The Job
by Crash's Angel
Summary: COMPLETED!
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way.

**Prologue**  
  
A twenty-five year old Higurashi Kagome sat in the weekly morning meeting at the corporation where she worked. Her boss was saying that there were a few new employees in her department, starting today. They were supposed to come in during lunch to see her, receive a tour of the office and their new offices.  
  
The meeting was adjourned shortly after, not much had been discussed, just the new employees. Kagome returned to her office, to get as much of her work done before the new employee's showed up. She was surprised when twenty minutes after she had started working, her secretary buzzed her, informing her that the new staff had shown up early.  
  
Kagome sighed and stood up, stretching. She had been up late the previous night, thinking about a life she had thought she left far behind her. Though for some reason, she had been thinking about it more and more often lately. It bothered her because she hadn't thought about her past for the longest time, and now it was all she could think about in her free time and even sometimes during work.  
  
Kagome sighed again and walked out her office door. She stopped short when she saw two men standing next to her secretary's desk. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal except they looked incredibly alike. Both men had unusual features. One, the older looking of the two, that she assumed was probably not much older than herself, had spiky hair that looked like it would be almost shoulder length when down. It wasn't that unusual, except for the color. It was an exceptionally light blonde.  
  
The other man, who looked to be a few years younger, had hair that was the same color, only longer. His hair almost went down to the middle of his back.  
  
Kagome blinked and looked again, and for an instant their hair looked an eerie white color, a color she hadn't seen in many years. She blinked again, and it was the light blonde color again. She shook her head a little, and passed off the white color due to the lightness of the hair to begin with and her overactive imagination recently.  
  
She realized she was staring at their hair and looked somewhere else, their eyes. The older man had blue eyes, oddly tinted gold. The younger man had light brown eyes. Even in the office lighting, their eyes looked almost golden, and she was certain that in the sunlight, they would look purely golden. She mentally shook her head at her nostalgic thinking. But she still couldn't help but think of their odd resemblance to men she had known in her past, that she wanted to leave in her past.  
  
Kagome shook her head again and extended her hand in greeting to the men. "Hello, my name is Higurashi Kagome. I assume you are the new employee's in my department?" she asked.  
  
The taller of the two men nodded his head and was about to accept her hand, but he was interrupted before he could. "Well, they are two of them," a female voice said.  
  
Kagome looked towards the voice and saw two women wearing business suits standing there. One had golden blonde hair that went a little past the middle of her back, hazel eyes, and looked to have quite a few muscles on her five foot nine body. Her black business suit was immaculate as was her hair, but what caught Kagome's eye was how the woman stood. She was in a modified defensive stance. Kagome put that in the back of her mind to think on later.  
  
The other woman had flame red hair that went to the middle of her shoulder blades, sky blue eyes, and a slightly smaller frame than the other woman. She wore an extremely expensive black business suit that looked like she had just taken the tags off that morning.  
  
"I am Tennyo Kat," said the blonde, "and this is Aozora Jade," she said motioning to the red head.  
  
Kagome looked at them confused. "Tennyo and Aozora. I recognize the names, but your application's had different first names," she said, leaving her real inquiry unsaid, but it was plain to see what she wanted to know.  
  
"We do have different names. We just don't use them unless we have to," Jade said.  
  
Kagome nodded, but was interrupted by someone clearing their throat. She looked back to the two men, slightly embarrassed about forgetting them. "Gomennasai. You two are also new employees?" she asked. The shorter man snorted and crossed his arms. The other man looked like he wanted to hit him, but instead nodded in response to her question.  
  
"I see. Gomen, but I only went through part of the applications. Could you please tell me your names?" she asked.  
  
"I am Inutaisho Desumasuku," the taller one said, slightly bowing his head in mild respect. The other man just stood there with his arms crossed over his chest until Inutaisho nudged him in the arm.  
  
He looked at Inutaisho with a mix of malice and forced respect. "I'm Inutaisho Hitori," he said, following the other man's lead, and bowed his head.  
  
Kagome looked a little surprised. "You two are brothers?" she asked, pointing between the two of them.  
  
Desumasuku looked at her. "Half. Will there be a problem with that?" he asked.  
  
Kagome shook her head. "No, I just won't be able to call you by your family name, that's all," Kagome said, smiling at them.  
  
"If you'll follow me, I can show you around the building and show you to your offices," Kagome offered, turning to walk down an aisle of cubicles.  
  
All four nodded and followed her towards the far end of the level, Kagome explaining things as they walked and answering questions. Occasionally she would stop to talk to a few other employees and then move on.  
  
Translations of their names: Tennyo: heavenly nymph or celestial maiden; Aozora: blue sky; Desumasuku: death mask; Hitori: alone


	2. The Feeling

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way.

**Chapter 1: The Feeling**  
  
_'That was so weird,'_ Kagome thought as she sat behind her desk in her office shortly after she had gotten the new employee's settled into their offices. _'I sensed the presence of youkai. I've never sensed a youkai at work before. On the street, sure, but never at work,'_ Kagome thought, confused. _'What was weirder, I sensed two. Youkai are never in groups of less than four these days. Hanyou's stay in even larger groups,'_ she thought, shaking her head. "I wouldn't even worry about it if they weren't so strong," she said aloud.  
  
"Worry about whom?" asked a cold voice from her door.  
  
Kagome looked up, startled, to see Inutaisho Desumasuku standing just within her doorframe. "It's nothing to worry about," Kagome said once she calmed down, though it took her a little longer than normal to relax. She was certain that the man in front of her was one of the youkai that she had sensed earlier.  
  
"If it is nothing to worry about, then why are you worry about it?" he asked as he crossed his arms and leaned against her door frame, cocking an eyebrow at her.  
  
"It's nothing that you should concern yourself with. Now is there a reason you have come here, or are you just wasting time?" Kagome asked, sitting up straight in her chair. That man, correction, youkai in front of her exuded power and strength that her miko powers could not ignore.  
  
Desumasuku stood straight in her doorway once again. "I merely came to inquire if there was anything that required doing," he told her, his eyes turning cold and calculating.  
  
"You were already assigned work. You didn't finished it all already, did you?" she inquired. His reply was a simple nod. "I see," Kagome said as she looked through some of the paperwork that resided on her desk. She found the folder that she had been looking for and held it out to the young man. "If you have nothing else to do, I need you to go over this file and transfer the information into the computer network database," she said.  
  
He walked up to the front of her desk and took the file out of her hand, opening it up to look over the contents. He nodded, turned and walked out the door.  
  
Kagome sighed and massaged her temples. She got the feeling that she knew him, and when he had stood in her doorway, looking at her with those cold eyes, she had a massive wave of deja vu wash over her. _'He almost reminded me of...'_ she thought, but cut herself short, not wanting to think about it. She sighed, nostalgia overcoming her mind as a picture of a young boy with wild orange hair and tail appeared before her mind's eye. _'Shippo, I hope you did alright without me,'_ Kagome thought, resting her head in her hand.  
  
"Higurashi-san?" a feminine voice asked from her door. Kagome lifted her head and looked towards the door to see Kat Tennyo standing there. Kagome waved her hand to let the girl know that she could continue. "Higurashi-san, I'm terribly sorry, but I can't seem to work this copier, and I couldn't find anyone else to help me. Could you assist me, please?" she asked, bowing slightly from the waist down.  
  
Kagome nodded, slowing getting up from her seat and walking out of her office, Tennyo in tow behind her. A few minutes after Kagome got back to her desk, Inutasiho Hitori showed up at her door, but he looked like he was trying to not be noticed by her. "What can I do for you, Hitori?" she asked, trying to sound polite.  
  
He jumped a little and looked a bit nervous. "I was just looking around a little on my lunch break," he said, stuttering a little, and a faint blush appearing on his cheeks. He then shook his head, crossed his arms over his chest, and snorted before walking off.  
  
Kagome shook her head at his antics. Then what he said sunk in and she looked at her watch. _'Kami-sama, it's already time for lunch.'_ She sighed mentally, knowing she would have to work through most of her break to make up the work that she missed earlier.  
  
Kagome got through the rest of the day with far fewer interruptions and gladly climbed into her car after she had packed up any work that she would have to take care of later at home. She sighed as she relaxed her muscles and guided her car into the daily rush hour traffic. She could tell from experience that it would be a while before she would get home and her mind was taken away by memories that she wished would just stay buried sometimes.  
  
Flashback  
  
Kagome sat on a boulder in the same clearing as the well that she used to travel through time, thinking. A huge smile crossed her face as she saw the golden eyed and silver haired young man walk into the clearing. She jumped up from the rock she sat on and ran to him, only to have him embrace her in his strong arms.  
  
"How long have you been waiting?" he asked, his voice hushed, but she could hear the concern in it.  
  
"Not long," she reassured him. Kagome looked up to him with bright eyes, but her smile faded when she got a good look at his face. He looked sad. "What's the matter?" she asked, raising a hand to brush along his cheek.  
  
He sighed, but quickly covered it up. "You must return to your time. You can not return here. Leave and never come back," he said pushing her away from himself and into the well. Once he was certain that she was on the other side, he destroyed the well, making it impossible for her to come back.  
  
What she didn't realize until later that day, was that he had taken the completed Shikon no Tama from around her neck. She cried herself to sleep that night and for several months afterwards. Kagome tried to bury her past in the past, along with her broken heart, from then on.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Kagome sighed as she maneuvered her car into the parking garage of her apartment building. She gathered all her things from her car and made her way to the elevator. She got in and pressed the number for the tenth floor. Just before the doors closed, she heard a voice calling for her to hold the elevator. Without thinking, she pressed the hold button while scanning over her paper.  
  
"Higurashi-san, we didn't know you lived here," the voice said.  
  
Kagome looked up, surprised. There stood Tennyo Kat and Aozora Jade, their jackets thrown over an arm and the top few buttons of their blouses were undone.  
  
"I do, but I didn't know you lived here. When did you move in?" Kagome responded.  
  
"We moved in Saturday. Then, Kat dragged me shopping Sunday," Jade said, crossing her arms over her chest.  
  
"That explains why we didn't see each other. I was at a family friend's over the weekend," Kagome said, hoping to return to her paper soon. "What floor are you going to?" she asked them, since they seemed to have forgotten about it.  
  
"Tenth," they said in unison.  
  
"I also heard that a couple other guys moved in on the same floor, and they're really cute," said Kat, excited at the prospect of cute men.  
  
Kagome nodded absentmindedly. She lived in a really good part of town and it had taken her almost a year to get an apartment in this building, and then all of a sudden there were new tenants in two different apartments. She hadn't even heard of the open apartments.  
  
The elevator stopped and all three girls got out and went to their apartments, which happened to be right across from one another. Kagome got out her keys and started to unlock her door when she saw Inutaisho Desumasuku and Hitori exit the stairwell. There was also another young man behind them that Kagome didn't know.  
  
_'So they are the new tenants. I wonder who the third guy is,'_ Kagome thought as she turned the key in it's home so that she could get into her own home. She watched the three men walk to the apartment to the right of her own out of the corner of her eye.  
  
Kagome shook her head and went into her apartment, locking the door behind herself. She went straight to the refrigerator and pulled a few things out for dinner and went to quickly change into a tank top and some lounge pants, tossing a robe on over the skimpy tank top. After a few minutes in the kitchen she was deftly chopping vegetables and meat, putting it in a pot for a stew, with some rice in another pot, boiling already.  
  
While her dinner was cooking, she washed her hands and went to the table where she left her briefcase and got out some paperwork that she had yet to finish from that morning. She went to work, checking on the boiling pots every-so-often. Kagome quickly got through the rest of her paperwork and then fully concentrated on her cooking. Or at least that was her intentions. Her mind kept wandering to the past and her time spent there. Most of all, it kept wandering to the friends that she had made.  
  
Kagome was startled out of her revere by a knock at her door. She quickly turned down her stove and made her way to the door. She quickly looked out the peep hole before opening the door to reveal the other young man that had been with the Inutaisho brothers.  
  
"Can I help you with something?" she asked, keeping most of her body behind the door. She looked him over, trying to assess him. She sensed that he was a youkai, which was probably why he was staying with Inutaisho's. He had reddish orange hair that was tied in a ponytail at the base of his neck and intense green eyes. He was about five foot six inches, had a well muscled build, and looked about twenty-one.  
  
The young man bowed and flashed her a brilliant smile. "I was wondering if you had an onion that I could have. My friends and I just moved in and don't have very much in our refrigerator," he said as politely as possible.  
  
"Your friends?" she asked tentatively.  
  
"Yes. I live with Inutaisho Hitori and Desumasuku. We live right next door. I'm sorry. I haven't introduced myself. I'm Teiru Gishi," he said, bowing again.  
  
"Higurashi Kagome," she introduced herself, bowing slightly. She noticed his eyes light up when she said 'Kagome', but didn't think much of it. "An onion, right?" she asked, stepping back and letting him in.  
  
He stepped in and looked around a little. "Uh, yea, an onion," he said, following her to the kitchen. Teiru watched Kagome search in her refrigerator for an onion with a huge smile revealing his overly sharp teeth.  
  
Kagome found an onion quickly and straightened to give it to Teiru. "Here you go," she said as she handed it to him. Kagome quickly checked on her own food, finding that it was just fine. "Is there anything else that you need?" she asked.  
  
"No, not at all. This is all I needed. Thank you," he said, bowing and then walking towards the door, Kagome following after him. He stopped at the doorway and bowed to her again. "Thank you very much." he said before disappearing into the hall and then the apartment next door.  
  
Kagome shook her head and went back to her kitchen, hoping that what she cooked was edible. Most times it was, but there were those few times that her cooking was almost unbearable. At least this time it smelled good.  
  
As Kagome packed her papers into her briefcase and set her table, she could feel her miko powers tingling, constantly letting her know that there were youkai nearby. Kagome sighed and shook her head, then went about setting the table for her dinner. She served herself and tentatively tasted it. Finding that she had once again cooked a delicious meal, she quickly ate the rest of her meal.  
  
She was glad that she cooked extra, that way she wouldn't need to make anything for her lunch. She quickly put the leftovers away in her refrigerator and washed the dirty dishes. Kagome then went to soak in a nice hot bath for a while before she went to bed. She suspected she would have a hectic day tomorrow and wanted all the sleep she could get.  
  
As she relaxed in the tub, her mind wandered once again.  
  
Flashback  
  
Kagome walked along a path in the forest, thinking about what she should do with the completed Shikon no Tama. She was its protector, after all. It was her duty. She knew Inuyasha wanted the jewel so that he could turn into a full youkai instead of remaining a hanyou. That had been his desire since she first met him.  
  
Kagome soon found herself in the clearing that contained the Bone Eater's Well. She sat down on a boulder and considered what she could do with the Shikon no Tama. Suddenly an orange furry ball landed in her lap and hugged her tightly around the waist.  
  
"Okaa-san, you aren't going to leave me, are you?" cried Shippo.  
  
"No, I would never leave you. They would have to drag me away kicking and screaming," Kagome reassured her pup, holding him to her. "Don't worry about it. Could you go check and see when lunch will be ready, please?" she asked, messing up his hair a little.  
  
Shippo nodded. "Hai," he said and hopped off her lap, running towards the village and Kaeda's hut.  
  
Kagome leaned back and continued her contemplation of the future of the Shikon no Tama, until she sensed a youkai nearby. She recognized the power, so she didn't worry too much. She had also advanced greatly with her miko abilities and could take care of herself, much to the chagrin of one inu hanyou. Kagome also didn't have to worry because Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru had made a truce, and since then, Sesshoumaru had stayed rather close by. Kagome looked up and smiled when the youkai she had sensed entered the clearing.  
  
End Flashback  
  
Kagome sighed and got out of the bathtub, quickly drying off and got dressed in her pajamas. She then crawled into her large futon bed and quickly fell asleep.  
  
Translation of their names: Teiru: tail; Gishi: adopted child

Please keep in mind that I have the names in the proper Japanese form, last name or the family name first and then the first name or individual name last. Also, in Japan they always say 'please' at the end of the sentence.

Other translations: miko: priestess or shrine maiden; youkai: demon; hanyou: half demon and half human; Shikon no Tama: Jewel of Four Souls


	3. The Past

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way.

**Chapter 2: The Past**  
  
_Dream  
  
She ran through a dark forest, trying to get away from whatever was chasing her. She quickly checked behind her to see if she could see it and tripped over a tree root sticking out of the ground. A scream escaped her as she crashed to the ground and felt a heavy weight land on her back.  
  
End Dream_  
  
She awoke with a scream and looked around frantically, searching her room for any intruders. Seeing that it was all clear, she laid back down and tried to calm her erratic heartbeat and breathing. When she had calmed herself down, she tried to go back to sleep.  
  
The next morning at the office, Kagome looked a little haggard. She'd had a hard time getting to sleep the night before and was restless all night. Several, if not all, of the people working under her tried to avoid her, knowing that she could have quite the temper when provoked. Kagome got herself a cup of tea and went to work in her office.  
  
Hours later, Kagome looked at her watch, amazed that the whole morning had gone by with absolutely nothing happening except work. She smiled as she stood and stretched before going to get her lunch. She brought it back to her office and continued to go over papers. She quickly ate and completely focused on her work, answering whenever her secretary buzzed her.  
  
Kagome was amazed when she looked out her open door and saw that almost everyone else had already left and looked at her watch to confirm that she should have left fifteen minutes ago. Kagome sighed and got ready to leave, shocked that nothing had happened to interrupt the work day. She happily got into her car, throwing her briefcase in the backseat, and started her trip home.  
  
As she got stuck in the rush hour traffic, she took her coat off and undid the top two buttons on her white silk blouse. She turned on the stereo and popped a CD in, deciding she didn't want to listen to the sound of horns honking and cars running. She grinned as Linkin Park blared out over her speakers, and let her hair down as she loosened up to the music. Before she knew it, traffic was moving and she was almost home.  
  
It was odd. That had been the first time that she had truly meant it when she called her apartment home. When she was younger she would have called something completely different her home. It felt like she belonged there so much better than she ever did in her childhood home. Her mother had graciously allowed her to do what she wanted and so she stayed in what she thought was her real home. She knew better now. It had never been her true home, just a sad excuse for one. A lone tear trailed down her cheek before she wiped it away and stopped anymore from falling.  
  
She pulled into her parking space and turned the engine off. She sat in her car for a minute, trying to collect her stray thoughts. She slowly gathered her belongings from her 2003 Mustang, making sure to get her CD from the player, and went to the elevator. She pushed the button to call elevator and waited patiently for her ride to come to her. The doors opened with a 'ping' noise, startling Kagome out of her daze, but only long enough for her to enter the modern machine and push the button for the tenth floor.  
  
Another sound of 'ping' brought Kagome back to the real world as the doors opened to reveal the tenth floor. She stepped out and slowly walked towards her apartment, but suddenly stopped. Inutaisho Desumasuku was standing outside her apartment door, his suit jacket tossed over his shoulder, several of the buttons on his silk shirt undone and his khakis hugging his hips. She started walking again and walked right to her door, taking out her keys and unlocking her door. It looked like she was going to ignore him.  
  
"What do you want?" Kagome asked Desumasuku.  
  
"I wish to speak to you," he said, his voice smooth like cold silk.  
  
"You should have done so while we were at the office. Now you will have to wait until tomorrow," she replied as the door started to swing open.  
  
Desumasuku thrust his free hand out and stopped the door from opening completely. "I'm afraid this can not wait until tomorrow. It would not proper to talk to you about this at the office," he told her, staring directly at her.  
  
Kagome turned startled eyes upon him and gasped when she saw them turn more gold for a second. She dumbly nodded her head and watched his face as he removed his hand from the door handle. Kagome looked away from him and quickly got her courage back as she entered her apartment, leaving her briefcase and jacket on a table by the door.  
  
She left Desumasuku standing in the living room as she walked farther into her home, speaking over her shoulder. "So what is so important that it can't wait until tomorrow and you'd rather not talk about it at the office?" she asked as she went into her kitchen and got a few things out for a cold dinner.  
  
She turned back to face her living room, expecting an answer to her question. She looked him in the face and nearly stopped breathing. Desumasuku now had long flowing white hair, intense gold eyes, crimson streaks on his cheeks, and a midnight crescent moon on his forehead. Inutaisho Desumasuku was now Sesshoumaru, Lord of the Western Lands.  
  
Kagome stepped into her living room, completely stunned. A million memories flooded her mind and all demanded her attention at once, each one being pushed away only to be replaced by another old memory or new thought. She finally succeeded in locking all the errant thoughts away and glared at the youkai in front of her.  
  
"You've lost your touch over the years," he said, his voice as cold as ever.  
  
Kagome moved faster than even she thought she could and was suddenly standing directly in front of Sesshomaru, not even an arms length away, a red hand print forming on his left cheek. Kagome glared at him, anger burning deeply within her eyes. "Did you come here just to torment and insult me?" she asked in a hiss. "I know you. You saw me and you could have blocked that," she said, desperately trying to keep her voice down so that her other neighbors would not bother her. She knew that he had probably looked inside of her mind when he had revealed himself to her and saw all her heart wrenching memories. Out of anger, she raised her hand to hit him again.  
  
Sesshoumaru caught and held onto her hand in mid slap. "I let you strike me once, do not presume that I will allow it again," he told her, his voice sending chills down her spine. "I did not come to torment you, as you so eloquently put it. I came to see you. I've been dying to touch you, even to just see you, for nearly five hundred years," he said softening his voice so that each word was a gentle caress to her ears. He took a small step forward, closing any gap of space that might have been between them before.  
  
"Then why did you do that to me? Why did you push me through the well? I would have been more than happy to stay with you," she said between choked sobs, tears sliding freely down her cheeks. She curled in on herself and would have fallen to her knees if Sesshoumaru had not snaked an arm around her waist, holding her up, her body pressed firmly against his hard body.  
  
"I did it to protect you. I would not have been able to live if you had died," he whispered in her ear. He placed her hand that he still held over his heart, just letting her feel it beating, and wrapped that arm around her waist. "I would not have done so if I had not thought this time period to be safer," he said quietly.  
  
"So you punished me? Don't you think I knew that? It wasn't your decision to make alone," she said, tears still streaming down her cheeks. She looked up at him, staring at his liquid gold eyes. "What did you do with the Shikon no Tama?" she asked, her voice begging with him.  
  
"I gave it to the baka," he told her.  
  
"Inuyasha? So he's Hitori?" she asked and saw him nod. "Who is Teiru Gishi?" she asked.  
  
He smiled gently down at her. "I didn't think you would recognize him. He has grown up quite nicely, don't you think?" he questioned.  
  
Kagome looked at him, confusion running rampant in her eyes. "Who is he?" she asked.  
  
"Your pup, Shippo," he told her, his smile gaining a little more confidence the longer he was with her.  
  
Kagome looked to the wall that the two apartments shared, almost like she could see through it and see him. After a minute, she turned her attention back to Sesshoumaru. "Why didn't you find me before?" she asked, her voice cracking. She felt her body giving out from the shock and leaned against Sesshoumaru, letting him hold her up.  
  
"I wanted to give you time, see if you would find another mate," Sesshoumaru said quietly. "Besides, if you were mad enough to hit me after all this time, just think of how mad you would have been if I had come earlier," he said, a small joking smile on his face.  
  
"I wouldn't have been mad at all. I would have been happy that you were still alive," Kagome said listlessly. "But no. You had to be a jerk and make me wait to see you. That's why you got smacked," she said, lightly hitting him in the chest. "And you should have gotten more than I gave you," she said, some energy returning to her voice.  
  
Sesshoumaru snorted a little and hugged her closer to his body. "I told you why I waited," Sesshoumaru told her.  
  
"You wanted to make sure I was faithful to you. You were suppose to be my mate, and you thought you had to test me," she said, her voice chiding. "I had accepted the fact that you wouldn't come back to me. I just never wanted another. I know lots of guys, youkai, hanyou and ningen, and I never once desired any of them. A few of the ningens asked me out, but I turned all of them down," she explained to him, matter-of- factly.  
  
"You never wondered why any one of them with youkai blood in them didn't court you?" he asked. Kagome shook her head and then slowly, as she relaxed more, she leaned her head on his chest. Sesshoumaru rested his head on top of hers and brought a hand up to brush through her hair. "They smelled my scent on you. It is still on you, even now, after ..." Sesshoumaru said, but was interrupted when Kagome placed a finger to his lips and lifted her head. Sesshoumaru let her finger slip into his mouth and sucked on it a little before Kagome pulled it from his mouth, a light blush covering her cheeks.  
  
Kagome felt some of her strength return and, after standing on her own, she tried stepping away from him. "I'm really pretty tired. I should get something to eat and go to bed," Kagome said as she put a little more space between their bodies.  
  
Sesshoumaru let her step back, but left her within the circle of his arms. "Where do you think you are going?" he asked her as she tried to keep backing up, but was stopped by his arms.  
  
Kagome looked away and blushed a little while she wrapped her arms around herself almost as if Sesshoumaru's icy gaze was chilling her. "The kitchen," she replied quietly.  
  
"Okay," Sesshoumaru said as he picked her up and carried her into her kitchen. He then grabbed some of the things that she had set out and he sat down with Kagome in his lap. He sliced open a few of the packages and fed some baby carrots to her.  
  
Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru while he fed her. After she swallowed her fifth carrot, he opened some broccoli and cut it up.  
  
"You don't have to do this," Kagome said, looking away from him. "It's the job of my mate to take care of me, and since I apparently don't have one, I can take care of myself," Kagome said quietly, but she knew he could still hear her.  
  
"That is where you are wrong," Sesshoumaru said, stopping in his actions. "I am your mate. I always have been. It was wrong of me to abandon you like I did," Sesshoumaru said, gently brushing Kagome's hair away from her face. After all her hair was out of the way, he started to caress her cheek, slowly moving his hand down her neck.  
  
Kagome looked up at him with sad eyes. "I ... I ... There's been nothing to remind me except for painful memories," she said, tears welling up in her eyes.  
  
"Why were they painful? We had plenty of good times together, didn't we?" he asked, trying to catch her eye.  
  
"That's just it. In my memory, we were together, but when I woke up, you weren't here. And it hurt, because I didn't have anything to remember you with," she said, looking away from him.  
  
Sesshoumaru's hand had reached the junction of her neck and shoulders just under her shirt, and he just let his hand rest there, his thumb occasionally rubbing in small half circles. "Yes, you did. You just forgot about it," he told her as he lowered his head so that his forehead rested against her temple.  
  
Kagome looked at him skeptically. "Just what is that?" she asked him.  
  
"This," he said as he moved her shirt to the side to reveal a mark where his hand had been resting and moved his head so that he could gaze at the mark. "This proves that you are my mate," he told her as he lovingly caressed the mark.  
  
Kagome looked at the mark as well as she could and then looked back to Sesshoumaru, awed. Kagome opened her mouth to say something, but was stopped when Sesshoumaru's lips came down on her own, soft yet firm.  
  
He moved a hand to the small of her back to keep her on his lap and moved his other hand up to the base of her head. He used his hand on her neck to keep her mouth in place.  
  
Kagome responded to the kiss and when Sesshoumaru placed a hand on her neck, she let him take complete control of her head. She felt more at home in his arms than she had anywhere else ever before. Each move of his lips was like a gentle caress of warm satin sending shivers down her spine and made heat pool between her legs. Kagome snaked her arms around his neck and moved so that she straddled his lap, moaning when she felt his hardness. When she felt Sesshoumaru nibble on her lower lip and then lick to sooth it, she opened her mouth a little, but closed it again to tease him. She knew what he wanted, but was going to make him work for it.  
  
Kagome broke off the kiss, earning a frustrated groan from Sesshoumaru. "What about dinner?" she asked.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at her. "You're teasing me," he growled as he slid his hands down her body. His hands reached her butt and he squeezed causing Kagome to slide herself away from his hands and towards his hardened member. Sesshoumaru groaned when she settled more firmly on his shaft and looked at her and smiled when he saw her closed eyes. "Do you still want to have dinner?" he asked and smirked when she opened her eyes, startled.  
  
Kagome just stared him in the eyes for a minute before answering him. "No, but this stuff needs to be put away," she said, looking over her shoulder to the food on the table and then back at Sesshoumaru.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked her in the eye. "You go to your room. I will take care of this, and then I'll meet you in there in a minute," Sesshoumaru told her. He then leaned in and gave her a quick kiss on the lips before he set Kagome on her feet on the floor.  
  
Kagome nodded and headed off to her room, an idea forming in her mind as she walked.  
  
Sesshoumaru watched her go and when she was out of sight, he set to work putting the food away. He then headed in the same direction that he had watched Kagome go, quickly finding his way to her room.

A/N: The next chapter contains a lemon and therefore will not be posted on this site. You can look for the link in my bio in about an hour.


	4. Surprises

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way.

A/N: In case you didn't notice, the last two chapters were lemons, and are therefore posted off site. The links to the lemons are in my bio.

**Chapter 5: Surprises**  
  
Kagome woke up a while later, still snuggled to Sesshoumaru's side in the same position as when she had fallen asleep. She moved her one arm out from underneath her body and put it in front of herself. She was about to drift back to sleep when Sesshoumaru's hand on her shoulder moved, massaging her shoulder a bit. Kagome opened her eyes and looked up to his face, and saw his intense golden gaze settled on her.  
  
"Mmmm, what time is it?" she asked, pressing a quick kiss to the crook of his neck.  
  
Sesshoumaru glanced over at the clock on the bedside stand next to him and then looked back at her. "It's a little after ten thirty," he said. "You've been asleep for a couple of hours."  
  
"I'm going to get lazy," she said, a huge grin in place. Then she sat up and scooted towards the edge of the bed. "Want some breakfast?" she asked as she grabbed her robe and pulled it on.  
  
Sesshoumaru sat up and watched her as she walked toward the door, his eyes watching her butt, a lecherous grin in place. His eyes traveled up her back and widened as he made eye contact with her, his grin disappearing. "Yes. I believe that would be nice," he said, acting as if he hadn't been staring at her.  
  
Kagome smiled at him and walked over to his side of the bed and gave him a quick kiss, pulling away before he could pull her into his lap. "You can stare if you like," Kagome whispered as she pulled away.  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked at her while he reached up and pulled her to him by her robe. "Good," he said as he pulled the top of her robe open.  
  
Kagome quirked an eyebrow at him and swatted at his hands. "What about breakfast?" she asked.  
  
"I already have what I want," he told her.  
  
"Hentai," Kagome muttered, grabbing his hands. "Not this time, big boy," she told him. "I need some food." She saw a frown appear on his face, though it looked more like he was pouting. Kagome smiled at him and tossed his pants in his face.  
  
Sesshoumaru pulled his pants off of his head, and pulled them on. He followed her out to the kitchen and watched her get things out and start cooking. "I'm going to go next door and get a shower and some clean clothes," he told her, walking up behind her and kissing her on the head.  
  
Kagome looked over her shoulder at him. "M'kay. Be quick, it won't take long for me to cook," she told him.  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded and kissed her on her cheek. Before she could say anything else, he was already out the door. He entered the apartment that Inuyasha and Shippo used and quickly took a shower and got dressed. He tossed a few essentials into an overnight bag, along with a few changes of clothes, all the while listening to the noise in Kagome's apartment in case she finished making breakfast before he got back.  
  
Kagome looked towards the door when she heard it open, smiling when she saw Sesshoumaru walk back in. She returned her focus to her cooking while he took off his shoes. "I suppose you took my keys so that you could get back in?" she asked. She glanced over her shoulder in time to see him nod. She turned back to the food she was preparing and was startled when Sesshoumaru's head appeared over her shoulder, peering at the food. Kagome looked at him and placed a quick kiss on his cheek.  
  
"Would you please set the table?" she asked him. He nodded, though he looked a bit confused. Kagome smiled and pointed to different cupboards and drawers, telling him where what was. A few minutes later, she glanced at the kitchen table, and smiled when she saw that the table was set, which was good because the food was almost done as well.  
  
"You can go sit in the living room, if you like. It'll be a few minutes before everything is ready," she told him, only half lying. She saw Sesshoumaru nod once and walk out of the room, and then turned back to the food. Kagome quickly set some water in a tea pot on the stove to heat while she dished out the food. By the time the food was set out on the table, the water had boiled and Kagome had put the tea leaves in the water to seep for a bit.  
  
"Everything is ready," she called to Sesshoumaru as she sat the tea on the table. He walked in the room just as she sat down, and just stood there for a minute, staring at the table.  
  
Sesshoumaru was a bit stunned; Kagome sat on the opposite side of the table from where he stood, and in front of her was a traditional breakfast. And it looked absolutely delicious. The food looked good, as well. He walked forward, sitting opposite of her, and reached for the tea, but his hand met with Kagome's already on the pot. He looked up at her and withdrew his hand, allowing her to serve him.  
  
Kagome served the tea, a faint blush on her cheeks as she remembered several of the previous times that she had done so for him after they had first mated. She waited until Sesshoumaru had begun to eat before she picked up her own chopsticks and began to eat. They ate in a comfortable silence for a while. Kagome was impressed with herself; this was the best meal that she had prepared in a very long time.  
  
"That was very good," Sesshoumaru told her after he had finished eating, looking up at her. He was pleased when she looked up at him, a small smile in place.  
  
"Thank you," Kagome said. She noticed his empty cup and moved to fill it again for him.  
  
Sesshoumaru stared at Kagome, noticing how tense she looked. He stood and walked to her side of the table, and sat down next to her. He placed a hand on her chin and brought her gaze to his. "You need to relax," he told Kagome, leaning in to place gentle kisses on her eyelids. He pulled back to look at her half- lidded eyes. "Go take a shower; it will help you to relax some," he told her.  
  
"But what about the dishes?" Kagome asked.  
  
"I'll take care of those," Sesshoumaru told her. When he saw the odd look in her eyes, he continued. "I have not had servants to take care of this sort of matter all my life," he stated.  
  
Kagome thought about it for a minute and then nodded with a small smile. "Okay. I'll go take a shower. Thank you," she said, kissing him on the cheek quickly before she got up and headed off for the bathroom.  
  
A while later, Kagome came out of the bathroom, a towel wrapped around her hair and another wrapped around her body. She looked into the kitchen and saw that all the dishes had been washed, as well as a few other things. The stove, refrigerator, and countertop had all been washed until they sparkled.  
  
She walked into the living room and up behind Sesshoumaru where he sat on the couch. Kagome wrapped her arms around his neck and buried her nose in his hair.  
  
"I take it you got bored?" she asked. She felt him nod his head and his hand being placed on her arms. "I'm sorry I took so long. It just felt so good," she admitted.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned his head and raised a hand to the back of her head. He held her head so that he had good access to her mouth and placed a gentle kiss to her lips. He felt her respond to the kiss and he deepened it, thrusting his tongue into her mouth, and stroked her tongue.  
  
Kagome leaned into Sesshoumaru's mouth, half of her body hanging over the back of the couch, her towel loosening around her body and beginning to slip. She felt his hand slide from the back of her head to her waist, and then nearly screamed into his mouth when he tugged her the rest of the way over the back of the couch and into his lap. As she fell into his lap, she felt his hand tug at her towel and slip from her body.  
  
Sesshoumaru made sure Kagome was settled in his lap and then trailed a claw up her side, to the towel wrapped around her hair and pulled it out, sinking his fingers in her still damp hair. He snaked his other arm around her waist and pulled her body closer to his.  
  
Kagome pulled back for air and tilted her head to the side when Sesshoumaru trailed kisses down her throat to the mark at the crook of her neck that claimed her as his mate. Her hands went to work on the button and zipper of his pants and when she got those undone, she tugged his shirt free of his pants.  
  
Sesshoumaru pulled his mouth from the mark and pulled his shirt over his head. He then sat Kagome on the couch and stood up, quickly removing his pants and boxers, releasing his hardening member.  
  
Kagome stood up behind him and let her small hands circle his torso, her pert breasts pressing against his back. "How about we take this to the bedroom?" she asked. She trailed her hands down his stomach, but stopped before they went lower than his navel.  
  
Sesshoumaru suddenly turned to her. "How about we leave it right here?" he suggested as he picked her up and sat back down on the couch with Kagome straddling his lap.  
  
Kagome nodded, his member pressing into her stomach as she leaned forward to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. She felt his hands on the cheeks of her butt and groaned into his mouth as he massaged the flesh.

...  
  
The clock in the living room chimed, notifying the occupants of the apartment that it was now five o'clock. Kagome groaned from her place on the floor, where they had ended up after only a couple hours of activity, though that had not stopped them. Kagome rolled to her left and molded herself to Sesshoumaru's side.  
  
Sesshoumaru turned his head and buried his nose in her hair while he wrapped his free arm around her, her head already resting on one of them. "If you wish to speak to Aozora when she returns from work, you should get up," Sesshoumaru's smooth voice broke the stillness of the room that had returned after the clock had silenced.  
  
Another groan came from Kagome, this one tired, but she rolled away from his body and moved to stand, but was restricted. "I can't get up with your arm holding me down," Kagome told him softly. She felt him hesitate, but then his arm was removed from her waist. "Thank you, I think," she said as she stood up and began walking down the hall towards the bathroom again.  
  
She quickly showered again, wondering why she had taken a shower earlier anyway. But then decided that it had been for the best, since it had made her feel better. As did this shower. She got out, and this time headed straight for her room to get dressed. Kagome went to her closet and pulled out a pair of jeans, a slightly tight tank top, a lightweight, long sleeve over shirt, a thong and a matching push-up bra. She dressed and then took her hair out of the towel that it was wrapped in and draped the towel over her shoulders and began to brush her hair.  
  
When she was done, she walked out into the living room again and walked around the couch. Kagome stood there a little shocked at the sight before her. Sesshoumaru was laying on the couch, one arm hanging off of the couch, mostly laying on the floor, the other draped over his eyes. And the only thing covering his body from her was one of her towels from her previous shower draped over his waist and thighs.  
  
Kagome leaned down and placed a kiss on his forehead and then began to walk away, but stopped before she left the room. "I'll be back later. Why don't you take a bath or something? Kill some time," she suggested. She heard him grunt in reply, and blamed the lack of a verbal response on a lack of energy that had no doubt been the result of the day's activity. She stuck her tongue out at the back of the couch before she left the room. She walked to the door, slipping on some sandals and grabbing her keys before she left.  
  
Kagome heard the elevator ding and she looked down to the end of the hallway to see Jade stepping off of the elevator. She was curious as to where Kat was, but was actually glad for her absence, giving her time to speak with Jade alone. Kagome waited for Jade to reach her apartment, a smile on her face, though she was wondering how she would start a conversation about youkai with the young woman.  
  
"Hello, Aozora-san. Could I speak with you about something?" Kagome asked.  
  
Jade was a bit worried, wondering what her boss could want to talk about, but tried not to think about the worst case possible. "Sure," she said. "My apartment or yours?" she asked.  
  
Kagome looked back at her door, a slight blush appearing as she turn back to Jade. "Yours," she said.  
  
Jade nodded and walked the short distance her apartment, stopping briefly to unlock the door. She walked inside, holding the door open with her foot for Kagome while Jade put her keys and purse down. She took her jacket off while Kagome closed the door behind herself. Jade led them into the kitchen and they sat down at her kitchen table. Kagome sat down almost as if she was at work, sitting at her desk, while Jade sat sideways, staring out the kitchen window, that didn't provide much of a view.  
  
"Where is Kat?" Kagome asked, trying to create some small talk before she got into the bulk of the conversation.  
  
"She had a date right after work," Jade said. "I could have gone if I had wanted to. I guess the guy had a friend, but I didn't feel up to it," she explained, wondering why she had told her so much more than needed.  
  
Kagome nodded and couldn't think of anything else to say so she got down to it. "This isn't anything to do with work, just so you know. I'm just kind of concerned about you," Kagome started, trying to not sound completely insane.  
  
Jade looked at her out of the corner of her eye. _'Maybe she knows about youkai. Maybe she's one of those rare people that can sense aura's and she sensed it. Even if she isn't like that, she should still know about youkai; she's one of the highest ranked employees at the company and they always know,'_ Jade thought, studying the woman sitting at her kitchen table. She turned to face Kagome and looked her straight in the eye. "Do you know anything about ... supernatural things?" she asked her boss, hoping she didn't sound like a crazy woman.  
  
Kagome smiled at her. "What? You mean like youkai?" she asked.  
  
At first, Jade thought that Kagome was mocking her, but then she saw the honesty in her eyes. "Yes, exactly like youkai," she replied.  
  
Kagome's smile only got bigger. "I should know at least a little bit about them. I am mated to one, after all," she told her.  
  
Jade's jaw nearly hit the table at that. "Are you kidding me?" she asked as she tried to calm herself a bit, actually succeeding some when Kagome shook her head.  
  
"That's actually what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm actually a miko and I sensed a youkai aura around you, like you were being protected by a youkai. I wanted to make sure that your protector wouldn't be a threat to myself and my mate," Kagome told her, hoping to avoid the subject of who her mate actually was.  
  
"Oh, that's no problem. Gyousei. Her name is Gyousei Jueru. I know she had a mate, and, both of them were youkai, but he died some years ago. I never found out what her mate's family name was, or even what his name was, but he was really nice. They had two children together. They helped my parents and myself when I was young, and I just kind of stayed under her protection after her mate and my parents died," Jade explained, noticing that Kagome's eyes had widened considerably at the mention of the youkai's name and her mate.  
  
"Do you know how her mate died?" Kagome asked in a slightly shaky voice.  
  
Jade nodded. "He got shot in a mugging or a robbery. Something like that," she replied. "But Jueru never let it affect her, at least as far as I could tell. She had two children of her own to take care of," Jade told her.  
  
Kagome had gone extremely pale, but still tried to maintain her composure. "Thank you. I don't think Jueru will give me or my mate any problems. Thank you for your time," Kagome said, her voice a bit shaky. She got up and walked to the door with Jade following behind her.  
  
"Are you alright?" Jade asked, concerned that she might have upset Kagome.  
  
"I'll be alright," Kagome said absentmindedly. "Thank you and good bye," she said before she walked out the door and across the hall to her own door. She got her keys out and unlocked the door and went inside as quickly as her trembling hands could.  
  
Jade stood in her door until Kagome had gotten inside her own apartment, and then went back inside her own to prepare some food.  
  
Kagome dumped her keys on the table and slipped her sandals off and went to the living room. She flopped down onto the couch, her mind spinning.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked into the living room from the hallway and became concerned when he saw how distressed Kagome looked. He walked to her and sat on the couch next to her, gathering her into his arms. He combed the fingers of his right hand through her hair, wondering what had happened.  
  
"Kagome, what happened? Did she tell you?" he asked, the concern clear in his voice. "Did Aozora tell you who is protecting her?" he asked again when Kagome didn't respond at first.  
  
Kagome nodded, her eyes staring straight ahead. "Jueru," Kagome told him the name.  
  
Sesshoumaru knew there had to be more to it to upset her so much. He also knew of no youkai that went by the name Jueru, which worried him. He didn't want to pry though, so he continued to comfort her until she decided to speak again.  
  
"Jade is protected by my mother," Kagome said, finally breaking through some of her shock and snuggling into his chest, allowing herself to take comfort from his strong arms. "Gyousei Jueru is my mother's name. Jade told me that the Jueru that protected her was mated to a youkai. Jueru's mate was shot, just like my father. And Jueru has two children," Kagome told him the basics of everything that she had learned from Jade.  
  
Kagome turned tearful eyes to Sesshoumaru. "That means I'm a youkai," she said, burying her face into his chest, taking in Sesshoumaru's strong scent to calm her self.  
  
"Is that so bad," Sesshoumaru asked her, stroking her hair, trying to soothe her worries.  
  
Kagome shook her head. "No. But I wish I had known," she said, speaking into his chest. "How could I be a miko and a youkai at the same time?" Kagome asked not really expecting to receive an answer.  
  
"If you would like, we could go see your mother this weekend. She will have the answers you need," Sesshoumaru said, still trying to comfort her with his voice and hands.  
  
Kagome nodded. "Yes. I would like that," she said, calming a bit. "I most definitely need to talk to my mother."


	5. The Homecoming

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way.

**Chapter 6: The Homecoming**  
  
The rest of the week passed relatively peacefully. Sesshoumaru moved most of his belongings into Kagome's apartment and tried to help her cope with her the knowledge of herself. Inuyasha spent much of his time at Muun's house; he hadn't liked Kagome's relationship with Sesshoumaru in the past, and he didn't like it now, in the present. Kagome tried to talk to him a few times at work during their lunch break, but he didn't want to talk, just as he had been in the past. Shippo, on the other hand, had been delighted when he found out that Kagome's mother was a youkai, therefore making Kagome a youkai herself.  
  
The only thing that had not calmed had been Jade. She was still waking up with nightmares almost every night. She had actually talked to Kagome about them, since Kagome already knew about youkai, she felt much more comfortable talking to her. Jade had at least felt a bit better after talking to Kagome, even though her nightmares did not lessen.  
  
Friday came, and Kagome and Sesshoumaru went to work in Kagome's car, having previously decided to leave for her mother's home right after work. She had called her mother Wednesday during her lunch break to let her know that she and her 'boyfriend' were coming to visit for the weekend. Friday ended up being uneventful; the only thing that happened was Kagome was called in to be consulted on the hiring another new employee. There had been an interview that she was to conduct set up for the following Monday. She had gone over the application and was pleased to find that the applicant was Shippo.  
  
After work, Kagome met Sesshoumaru at the elevators and they rode down to the parking garage where Kagome had left her Mustang. She allowed Sesshoumaru to get into the driver's seat as she got in the passenger side. Kagome gave him directions to get to the shrine and then she relaxed in her seat, thinking about what all she had learned from Jade and what she knew herself.  
  
_'But if Momma was a youkai, why didn't she tell me, or say anything,'_ Kagome wondered. _'Though she was really cool about Inuyasha being a hanyou. Most people would have freaked out about that,'_ she thought, sighing.  
  
Sesshoumaru glanced over at his mate when he heard her sigh, worried about her. She acted normal most of the time, but there were a few times when she really worried him. It was mostly when she was thinking about the possibility of her being a youkai. He knew it really worried her, but he knew she would be able to adapt easily; she always did. Wanting to comfort her, he did the only thing he could do while he was driving. He reached a non-clawed hand over and intertwined their fingers. They had decided that it would probably be best if he remained in his least demonic looking human form until after she had had some time to talk to her mother, though the more he thought about it, the more he was beginning to think otherwise.  
  
After a few hours of driving, Sesshoumaru pulled her car into the back drive of the shrine. He gave Kagome's hand a quick squeeze before he released her hand to shift the car into park. Kagome looked up at him and then got out of the car, grabbing her large overnight bag out of the backseat. Sesshoumaru got out of the car, pocketing the keys after he opened the trunk, and grabbed his own bag.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked over to where Kagome stood waiting for him and gave her shoulder a quick, reassuring squeeze. "Everything will be fine. I'll be right here by your side," he told her quietly before Kagome's mother came out of the house to greet them.  
  
"Oh, it's been too long since you last visited, Kagome, dear," her mother said, enveloping Kagome in a large bear hug, causing Kagome to drop her bag.  
  
Kagome returned the hug, glad to see her mother again, even though she had an abundance of questions to ask her. Kagome pulled back a bit and motioned to Sesshoumaru, who, she noticed, had changed into his more demonic form of the past, instead of staying in his more recent form. She mentally shrugged, wondering why briefly, but decided that instead of worrying about it now, she would just ask him later.  
  
"Mom, this is my boyfriend, Sesshoumaru," Kagome told her mother, wondering how she would react to the youkai that Kagome had just declared as her boyfriend.  
  
"Nice to meet you, Sesshoumaru-san," she said, bowing slightly.  
  
Kagome grabbed her mother's arm after picking her bag up from the ground and started to gently pull her towards the house. "Mom, we need to talk about a few things," Kagome said, looking back at Sesshoumaru as he followed them towards the house.  
  
After the three of them had sat down in the sitting room with tea to drink, Kagome's mother looked at her expectantly. "You said we needed to talk?" she asked curiously.  
  
Kagome nodded, but she really didn't know how to start such an odd conversation. Sesshoumaru saved her by speaking up first. "Jueru-san. I believe there are a few things you should tell your daughter," he said, his voice calm and cool.  
  
She looked at him, a bit curious as to how he knew that name. She never used it anymore, and only a few people knew of her use of it. She looked back to her daughter, a small, sad smile on her lips.  
  
"I guess you found out," she said, her words more of a question than a statement. Kagome nodded. "How, may I ask?"  
  
"A girl that lives in the same building as me is a co-worker of mine as well. She's under your protection," Kagome said quietly. "I sensed the aura around her, and then talked to her about it," she added as an explanation  
  
"Well, at least Jii-chan's spells haven't been broken, then," Jueru said, the same sad smile still on her face, now visible in her eyes.  
  
Kagome looked up at her, making direct eye contact. "You had Jii-chan put spells on me?" she asked, quite shocked at the news. "I thought his spells didn't work? They never seemed to work before," Kagome said.  
  
"Oh, they work just fine," said a male voice from the doorway of the sitting room.  
  
Kagome looked up and saw Jii-chan standing within the doorway, leaning against the wall, only it didn't really look like the Jii-chan she knew. Then she realized what it was that was different. He looked much younger, maybe thirty-five, and had pointed ears, claws, fangs, and his eyes glowed with the power his lean, almost thin, body hid. He stood considerably taller, as well. He now had a full head of long black hair, instead of the short, almost white hair he usually had. He also had a light blue diamond under his left eye, but that was the only mark on the fine skin of his face.  
  
"I want the spells taken off of me," Kagome said, looking down at the table in front of her, her voice as icy as Sesshoumaru's. She couldn't believe her family would do something like that to her.  
  
"We can't do that," Jueru said, her voice calm as she tried to soothe her angered daughter with it.  
  
Kagome looked back at her mother and saw that she was now showing her demonic attributes. Her hair was a bit longer and darker, with a few green and blue streaks in it, and her eyes glowed green. Her fingernails lengthen to claws, and though Kagome couldn't see it, she was sure her mother now had fangs. She looked considerably younger now, almost as young as Kagome. Jueru had a small forest green heart under her right eye and a lighter green circle high on her forehead.  
  
"You have no control right now. If we were to remove the spells now, it could become very dangerous to you and people around you," she said, becoming worried about the intense emotions beginning to come from her daughter in waves.  
  
Kagome's gaze slid between Jueru and Jii-chan, sliding over both of them, her anger evident in her eyes. "So what am I suppose to do? Just pretend I'm a normal a ningen?" she asked.  
  
"No, the spells will wear off on their own," Jii-chan said. "They normally would have already started to do so, but I had to use more powerful enchantments due to your miko abilities," he told her. "They will probably begin to weaken within a few weeks actually," he said, trying to calm her. "They're specifically made to wear off in time, to give you time to gradually learn how to control your new power. Without proper control, you could do a lot of damage," he explained.  
  
"That's something else; how can I be a miko and a youkai at the same time?" she asked, her voice growing colder the hotter her eyes blazed.  
  
"Every few centuries, there is one born that is a youkai with the ability to purify other youkai," Jii-chan answered. "They have both miko and youkai abilities, but the powers do not clash within the being as they normally would outside of their body. It tends to stop some of the fights that would start over land. When there is one of our own that can do tremendous damage to youkai kind, they try not to tick that one off," he explained quietly.  
  
Kagome stared at Jii-chan in shock at what he had said, but it did make sense. Her attention was drawn back to her mother when she spoke again.  
  
"You will need to rely on your mate greatly when the spells do begin to wear off. He will be able to help you learn to exercise control," Jueru said, looking pointedly at Sesshoumaru where he sat next to Kagome.  
  
"I already have control over my miko powers. How much harder could the other ones be," Kagome said in a voice that sounded a lot like a whine. "And who said Sesshoumaru and I were mated?" Kagome asked suspiciously.  
  
Jii-chan smiled at her and tapped his nose. "We're inu's, honey. We can smell him all over you," he said, a barely visible smirk curving his lips upward. "That, and we noticed his scent on you when you came back the last time from through the well. We didn't know who it was, but we knew you had a mate," he told her. "Besides, I don't think you would have been that upset over just leaving a few friends," he added.  
  
Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, and remembered how unbearable the pain had been when she had first came back. She absentmindedly nodded in agreement with Jii-chan. She looked back to her family, and felt Sesshoumaru take her hand in his.  
  
"By the way, how is that kitsune you had adopted? Has he faired well over the years?" Jueru asked.  
  
Kagome looked at her shocked, but realized she had probably smelled it on her as well. "He is well. Shippo now lives next door to me," she told them. "Along with Inuyasha, when he's not somewhere else," she added. "Back to more serious matters. What about Kikyo? Am I her reincarnation? And if not, how did she manage to take part of my soul?" Kagome asked, her eyes glittering with determination.  
  
"That's a toughy. You are and you aren't," Jueru said as she thought of a way to explain it. "You are her reincarnation in the sense that you do have her soul, but hers' is not the only one that has been fused together over the years to form your soul." At Kagome's confused look, she continued. "You have a very large soul. Your soul is made up of several souls, both ningen and youkai alike. When the witch tried to bring Kikyo back to life, she actually managed to give Kikyo your whole soul, not just the part of it that was once hers. That's why it was so easy for you to take it back. The little bit that did linger in Kikyo afterwards was just a small chunk of the soul that had once been hers," she explained.  
  
Jii-chan picked up where Jueru left off. "Not only do you have the soul that belonged to the last one that was like you, you also have many other souls that have been fused with it. It's part of why you're so strong. After the last youkai miko died, that soul was reincarnated several times, into both ningen bodies and youkai, along with a bit of another soul that would normally belong to which ever body it was in. The soul would then take on the properties of its current body, and during the lifetime of the being, the souls would fuse together, gaining in strength."  
  
"So, how come I'm not a hanyou?" Kagome asked quietly. "I have human and youkai in me, so it would make sense."  
  
"It would, wouldn't it. But for some reason, it doesn't work that way," Jueru said, moving to sit beside her daughter while Jii-chan moved to take her previous seat.  
  
Suddenly, a thought hit Kagome. "Jii-chan, you said your spells and scrolls work, but they never seemed to affect Inuyasha when he came into contact with them," Kagome said, leaving her question unspoken, but still hanging in the air.  
  
"Actually, they worked just fine. They were not meant to banish him, just to make it so he couldn't properly scent us. Though your mother and I use concealment spells, we do not normally conceal our scent, and your erratic visits home made it hard to know when we would need to do so, so I just made some scrolls that would affect his sense of smell for a short time. We didn't have to worry about him scenting you because you have your scent concealed, as well," Jii-chan replied, a good natured smile in place.  
  
"Oh," was all Kagome could say as she pondered that thought. "Are you going to tell Souta?" she asked.  
  
"We might as well, since he's been listening in from the kitchen for most of the conversation," Jueru said, looking at the door to the kitchen, and smirked when she heard a surprised yelp.  
  
Everyone watched as Souta poked his head out of the door, a guilty look crossing his features. "I didn't hear anything, I swear," he protested, sounding very much like a child that had been caught with their hand in the cookie jar.  
  
"Oh, I know you heard. Come here and meet your brother-in-law," Jueru told her youngest child.  
  
Souta cautiously came out of the kitchen and into the sitting room. He suddenly stopped when he saw the odd markings on his mother's and Jii-chan's faces, as well as their weird hair colors. "Why do you two look weird?" he asked, and then noticed Sesshoumaru sitting next to Kagome. "And who is that, and why does he look like Inuyasha?" he asked, pointing to Sesshoumaru.  
  
"This is Sesshoumaru, your brother-in-law," Jueru said. "As for Jii-chan's and my appearance, I believe you heard the reason from the kitchen. Now, why don't you sit down, and we can all talk for a while before I have to make dinner," she told Souta. He nodded and sat down on the floor in between where Jueru and Jii-chan sat. "Now, just so you don't think you heard wrong, I'm going to tell you again. You and your sister are a youkai, as well as Jii-chan and myself," she told him, waiting for his excited reaction that she knew would come.  
  
Souta's eyes got real big and his mouth gaped open. "I'm a youkai?" he asked, his voice rising a bit with his excitement.  
  
"Yes, you are," Jueru replied.  
  
"How come we don't look it? Well, you and Jii-chan use to not look it, but how come Kagome and I don't look like youkai? And how come I can't run fast, or see in the dark, or anything cool like that?" he asked. "And you still haven't told me why Sesshoumaru-san looks like Inuyasha," he said.  
  
Jueru laughed at her son's questions. "Calm down and let me speak, and then maybe I'll be able to," she admonished her son. "There are special spells that protect you, so that no one can tell you are a youkai. People aren't very friendly towards youkai these days, so we have to be careful," Jueru explained. "If you want to know about Sesshoumaru-san, you'll have to ask him and your sister."  
  
Souta looked expectantly towards his older sister. "Well," he prompted.  
  
Kagome sighed before she began to explain; preparing herself for the barrage of questions she knew would follow. "Sesshoumaru is Inuyasha's older half brother," she told him.  
  
"Oh," he said. "So, what happened to Inuyasha?" he asked.  
  
"He's around," Sesshoumaru said, his voice cold and uncaring.  
  
"Oh." He turned back to his sister. "I thought you liked Inuyasha?" he asked.  
  
Kagome shook her head. "I use to, but things changed," she told him.  
  
Before he could say anything else, Kagome's hand was covering his mouth and she was shaking her head again. "I'm tired. You can ask more questions at dinner and tomorrow," she said, standing up and beginning to walk to where she had dropped her bag. "I need a nap. Is my room ready?" she asked her mother as she took a few steps towards the stairs.  
  
"Yes, with clean sheets and everything," her mother replied.  
  
"Thank you, Momma," Kagome called from the stairwell as she made her way up to her old room.  
  
Sesshoumaru stayed downstairs, talking with Kagome's family. Souta had a bunch of questions that Sesshomaru replied to with as few words as possible, some even being answered with a grunt or a growl. After a bit, Jueru had to go begin cooking dinner, and Souta went to his room to do some homework, leaving only after Jueru had told him to go do it, so he wouldn't have to worry about it later. That left only Sesshoumaru and Jii-chan in the sitting room to talk on a more man-to-man level.  
  
"So where are you on the youkai chain of command?" Jii-chan asked with a bit of a grin.  
  
Sesshoumaru fought the urge to smirk at the other youkai. "I am the Lord of the Western Lands," he replied.  
  
Jii-chan's jaw nearly hit the floor. "Wow. My granddaughter definitely knows how to pick them," he said with a smile and a chuckle.  
  
"And your family?" Sesshoumaru asked.  
  
"We're not nearly as powerful a family as your own, but we're not weak, by far," he told him. "We are considered a lower class ruling family, though he have gained more power in more recent years." Jii-chan nodded sagely. "But that is only my side of the family. Kagome's father was quite powerful in his own right. I believe his father and your own were quite close," he said.  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded as he took in the information. That his father might have known Kagome's grandfather was quite shocking to say the least, but he did not allow his amazement to show. "I see, quite interesting," was all he said as he was distracted by a sound coming from the upstairs. He focused in on the sound and could hear Kagome shifting restlessly in her room. "I wish to go check on my mate," Sesshoumaru said as he stood.  
  
Jii-chan stood, as well. "Up the stairs and to the right. The door at the end of the hall," Jii-chan spoke the unneeded directions without a second thought until after he had finished.  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded his thanks and followed the directions he had been given, though he didn't need them to find his mate; he could have just sniffed her out. He entered the room and saw Kagome tossing and turning on her bed. He walked over to her bedside, running a hand through her hair as he sat on the edge of the bed, placing his other hand next to his hip on the bed. He was awed when the instant his hand came into contact with her, she calmed down and moved closer to him.  
  
"Mmmm, Sesshou..maru," she moaned, half asleep, half awake. She curled her fingers around his hand that was resting on her bed and curled more around him.  
  
Sesshoumaru tried to pull his hand free, but she just hung on more tightly and whimpered. Sighing, he lied down on the bed next to her and wrapped his free arm around her waist, pulling her against his body. He felt her snuggle against his chest, her hand still gripping his wrist between them. He nuzzled his face into her hair, taking comfort from her now calmed state. Sesshoumaru allowed Kagome to rest until he could smell the scent of a mostly finished dinner wafting up through the floorboards.  
  
"Kagome, dinner will be done in a few minutes," Sesshoumaru said, gently nudging her with his hand that rested on her side. He watched as she squirmed away from his hand, a small giggle escaping her.  
  
"Don't. That tickles," Kagome said sleepily. She realized she almost had a death grip on his wrist and loosened her hold, smiling up at him sheepishly. "Do we have to get up?" she asked, relaxing against him again.  
  
Sesshoumaru smiled at her, his hand moving to rest on her side once again. "Yes, we have to get up," he told her just before he lightly tickled her side, making her squirm, but he held her in place.  
  
"No, ... don't do ... that ... please ... no," Kagome managed to say between laughs and gasps for breath. She grabbed his hand and held it down against her side so that his fingers could no longer tease her sensitive skin. After she caught her breath, she glared playfully at him and then surprised him by rolling them over so that she was on top, her legs straddling his waist.  
  
"You're a bad puppy," she said, a sly smile forming on her lips. Kagome leaned down over him, very intent on his lips. She lightly kissed his lips before pulling away. "We need to talk. Not now, but sometime before we leave," she told him as she leaned down to kiss him again.  
  
Before they could get very far, they were interrupted by a knock coming from her door and the sound of someone clearing their throat from the other side.  
  
Kagome immediately sat back up and rolled off of him, while Sesshoumaru stood up from her bed. "Come in," Kagome said, looking over at her door, waiting to see who was there.  
  
Jueru poked her head in the door, a light pink tingling her cheeks at what she knew she had just interrupted. "Dinner is ready," she told them.  
  
Sesshoumaru looked at Kagome, a triumphant smirk in place that said 'told you so'.  
  
Kagome glared at him and then stuck her tongue out him. She stood up from her bed and headed towards the door.  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped her before she reached the door and wrapped his arms around her waist. He leaned down and whispered in her ear, "You better be prepared to put that tongue to good use later." Releasing her, he continued out the door and downstairs.  
  
Kagome caught up with him quickly and linked her arm with his.  
  
They went downstairs and entered the dining room to find Souta and Jii-chan already sitting there. They sat down to eat and chatted a bit while they ate. After dinner, Souta was sent up to his room to finish his homework while the adults moved to the sitting room to talk again.  
  
"What do you two plan to do?" Jueru asked them once they were seated and were all served some tea.  
  
"Kagome is my mate. I will take care of her," Sesshoumaru said, completely serious in his commitment to his mate.  
  
"We know that. If you weren't going to care for her, you wouldn't be here," Jii-chan said. "But what about Kagome's training that she will need?" he asked them.  
  
Sesshoumaru leveled his gaze at them. "It will be taken care of," he told them. "You have no need to worry about that."  
  
Jueru nodded, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "What about children? Do you plan on having any?" she asked. "I would like to be a grandmother, you know," she told them with a smile.  
  
"Momma, I'm too young to worry about that yet, even for a human. I'm sure we will have children eventually. Sesshoumaru does need an heir," Kagome said, looking at her mate occasionally.  
  
"That's good, but you should plan for it. Children can cost a lot to raise," Jueru told them.  
  
"You need not be concerned with that, either," Sesshoumaru told them.  
  
Kagome could tell that if she allowed this to continue, there would be a fight. "I'm getting tired. Would you like to come tuck me in, Sesshoumaru?" she asked him as she stood, pleading with her eyes.  
  
Sesshoumaru nodded and stood up beside her. He gently took her hand in his as she led him out of the room.  
  
Jueru opened her mouth to say something, but shut it again; remembering they were already mated and she shouldn't interfere with their lives. At least, not any more than she had already. "Try to be quiet for Souta's sake?" she asked before they left the room.  
  
"Yes momma," Kagome said. She led her mate up the stairs and to her room, locking the door behind them. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at her, but she just shrugged. "I just don't want to be bothered," Kagome said as she turned her back to him to get changed into her pajamas that she had brought with her. Once she had her shirt off, she felt Sesshoumaru's arms wrap around her waist.  
  
"Why not just leave it off for tonight?" he asked her. He rested his chin on her shoulder, his face right beside hers.  
  
"Because I leave it off every night," Kagome said, turning her head a bit so she was closer to him.  
  
"Exactly," he whispered to her, making sure his breath flowed over her cheek. "Why change?" he asked, his breath feather light.  
  
"Because it gets cold in here, even in the summer," Kagome said.  
  
"I'll keep you warm," Sesshoumaru offered, splaying his fingers across her bare stomach. "I will always keep you warm," he promised.  
  
Kagome nodded her head and allowed him to remove her pants and panties. She felt his feather light touches everywhere on her body. "It's no fair if I'm the only one undressed," she said, her hand brushing over his pants that were still separating them.  
  
Sesshoumaru placed a kiss on her cheek and stepped back enough to remove his clothing. He stepped back up behind her and picked her off of the floor enough to move them over to the bed. He laid Kagome down on her back and then crawled over her. He slowly made love to every inch of her body all night.


	6. Who Knew?

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way. Or the quote below. Just something I like.

"I liked you cause I thought you had some feeling, but, when you didn't, I liked you even more." - Mae West  
  
**Chapter 7: Who Knew?**  
  
Sesshoumaru woke up before the sun rose, the pleasantly seductive scent of his mate completely engulfing his senses. He silently got up from the bed, making sure not to wake Kagome, and quickly got dressed, going out to watch the sunrise, a habit that he retained from the feudal era, though he had not actively done it for the last week.  
  
Long after the sun had risen above the horizon, Sesshoumaru made his way back into the home of his mate's family. He followed the scents and sounds he picked up and found Kagome and Jueru in the kitchen, chatting away happily while they prepared breakfast. He stood in the doorway for a moment, watching his mate move about the kitchen, his eyes glued to her figure as she kept her back to him while she chopped something up.  
  
He watched as she finished and moved towards a pot that sat boiling on the stove. Sesshoumaru watched with interest as she pushed the assortment of vegetables off of the cutting board and into the pot. He knew both women had to have noticed his aura by now, especially since he did nothing to quell it's presence in the house, and they were now purposely ignoring him, making him wait for what he wanted. A few centuries ago, that would have angered him, but now it was almost amusing to be ignored by his own mate.  
  
Sesshoumaru walked up behind Kagome, a small smile flitting across his lips as he wrapped his arms around her waist while she had been distractedly stirring the contents of the pot.  
  
"Morning, koi," Sesshoumaru whispered huskily into her ear.  
  
Kagome giggled as she felt his arms snake around her waist, pulling her body back against his. She sighed in contentment as she leaned back and began to relax against his strong chest, her hands coming up to rest on his forearms.  
  
"Good morning, koishii," she greeted as she turned in the circle of his arms to face him. "Did you enjoy the sunrise?" Kagome asked as she turned her face up towards his.  
  
"Lovely. Though, not quite as beautiful as you," he said with a grin, running his hands up and down her back.  
  
Kagome blushed at his compliment, adverting her eyes from his. "Where did you watch it from?" she asked, looking back up into his eyes.  
  
"By the God Tree," he responded, a seductive smile spreading across his lips. He knew the memories that would be brought to the front of her mind by the mention of the ancient tree.  
  
Kagome's blush deepened as several memories surfaced in her mind, bringing along several vivid images. She buried her face in his chest as she willed the redness away. A few minutes later, she looked up at him, her cheeks still tinted pink from her embarrassment, but now her eyes were slightly glazed over with love and lust for her mate.  
  
Jueru stifled a giggle with her hand, watching the interaction between her daughter and son-in-law. She could smell the arousal in the air, wafting from the direction of the two young mates. She cleared her throat, startling the other occupants of the kitchen and drawing their attention to her.  
  
"Kagome, why don't you show Sesshoumaru-sama around the compound while I finish preparing breakfast," she said with a smile. She had taken to using the honorific when speaking of her son-in- law, especially since her father had told her who he really was. "You seem to be a bit distracted, anyway," she added, a knowing look crossing her features.  
  
Kagome blushed, knowing exactly what her mother meant. She nodded and began to pull Sesshoumaru with her towards the door, but stopped when her mother spoke up again.  
  
"Do you want me to call you in when breakfast is done, or do you just want me to save you some?" Jueru asked, a mischievous smile playing on her lips.  
  
Kagome's blush grew even darker at what was being implied, and was unable to respond. Luckily, Sesshoumaru was.  
  
"Call us in. I will be able to hear you," he replied as he ushered Kagome out of the room.  
  
As soon as they were out of the house, Jii-chan entered the kitchen. "You still act like a young pup, sometimes," he said with a long-suffering sigh. Shaking his head, he took his place in front of the pot that Kagome had been tending moments before. Taking a small taste, he shook his head. "This needs more salt" Jii-chan said as he moved to grab for the shaker.  
  
"No, it doesn't, and you know it," Jueru scolded as she grabbed the shaker before Jii-chan could. "Besides, the doctor said you should cut back," she said as she placed the shaker on the counter next to her, away from Jii-chan. A muttered 'fine' was heard from his direction as he went back to finishing the soup.  
  
Once Kagome got outside, her blush decreased exponentially until her cheeks returned to their normal healthy glow. She took Sesshoumaru on a tour of the shrine grounds, pointing out all of the major attractions, purposely skipping the God Tree, much to Sesshoumaru's amusement. At last they ended up in front of the Bone Eater's Well, Kagome standing in front of Sesshoumaru with his arms draped around her waist.  
  
Sesshoumaru let a snort slip out, something completely uncharacteristic of him, at the sight of the small shrine standing over the well. "Only humans would think to build a house for a well," he said.  
  
"Well, that would be where you are wrong, koi," Kagome said with a giggle. "This entire compound has been in my family since it was built. And that would mean that youkai built the well shrine," she pointed out to Sesshoumaru. Kagome felt more than heard the growl that rumbled in Sesshoumaru's chest at his displeasure.  
  
"So this is the well that you used to travel to the past?" he asked, clearly changing the subject.  
  
Kagome nodded. "Yes, it is," she replied, remembering just how she had first been pulled through the old well. Then, before she could stop herself, her mind brought up all of the bad, frightening memories from her travels in the past.  
  
Sesshoumaru felt a slight shudder run through Kagome and his sensitive nose picked up the slight change in her scent. He instinctively pulled her closer, trying to comfort her in any way he could, angered that he did not know what had frightened his mate.  
  
Kagome whipped around in Sesshoumaru's arms and buried her face in his chest. She inhaled deeply, taking in his scent, and used his closeness to banish the bad memories from the front of her mind.  
  
Sesshoumaru lightly raked his claws over her back, something that had always calmed her down in the past, though now it seemed to be having little affect on her. He was stunned when he felt the warm wetness seep through his shirt from her tears. Sesshoumaru pulled her closer, his claws still gliding across her back, as he tried to comfort her. He bent his head so that it rested next to hers practically upside down and whispered little nonsense words into her ear.  
  
Kagome finally calmed down enough to talk a few moments later and relaxed her grip on the front of Sesshoumaru's shirt. "I'm sorry," she whispered, her face still concealed by his shirt and chest. She slid her hands from his chest, down around his waist.  
  
Sesshoumaru held her tightly while she calmed down. "You have nothing to be sorry for," he told her quietly. "But I do want you to tell me what happened," he told her.  
  
Kagome tentatively looked up at him, her eyes showing the fear still smoldering them. Her fear dissipated slightly when she saw the barely contained worry in his features.  
  
"You don't have to tell me now, but I do want to know," he told her, his right hand coming up to cup her chin. He watched as she nodded, her chin still in his hand. "Good," he said, smiling down at her. He leaned down and placed a chaste kiss on her lips. "Come, we should head inside. I'm sure breakfast will be done shortly," Sesshoumaru told her.  
  
Kagome glanced at the house over Sesshoumaru's shoulder and nodded. "Yea, we should." She looked back over her own shoulder at the open door of the well house.  
  
Sesshoumaru noticed where her gaze had gone, and quickly released her, closing the door. He wrapped his arm around her waist and headed them towards the house.  
  
Jueru was just poking her head out the door to call them inside for breakfast when Sesshoumaru and Kagome had reached the front door. She smiled and waved them into the house, leading the way into the dining room. They all sat down and ate a quiet breakfast, no one really saying much, except for the occasional compliment on the food.  
  
After everyone had had all they wanted to eat, Kagome helped clear the table and then began washing the dishes. Jueru walked into the kitchen with the last of the dirty dishes and sat them on the counter next to the sink. She hurriedly put all of the left over food in the refrigerator and then went to rinse the dishes.  
  
"Why don't you go spend some time with your mate, dear? I know you two were separated for a long time," Jueru said as she moved to take over washing the dishes.  
  
"Thank you, Momma," Kagome said as she moved out of the way and gave her mother a quick hug around the waist from behind. Kagome went out into the living room to see Souta and Sesshoumaru playing twenty questions, though she had the sneaking succession that her mate was not a very willing participant. Kagome hid her giggle behind her hand as she walked over and sat next to Sesshoumaru on the couch.  
  
"Souta, why don't you go up to your room and play one of your games?" Kagome questioned as she relaxed on the couch.  
  
Souta crossed his arms over his chest as he defiantly stayed put. "I don't want to. I'm getting to know my brother."  
  
Kagome sent a stern look at her younger brother. "I could talk to Momma, and she would send you to do your homework," she said. "Whichever you prefer," Kagome added, shrugging her shoulders.  
  
"Fine," he grouched as he exited the room and headed up the stairs.  
  
Kagome sighed as she leaned her head against Sesshoumaru's shoulder. She smiled as he moved to place an arm around her shoulders and pull her closer. "Thank you," she whispered against his chest as she snuggled up closer to him.  
  
Sesshoumaru raised a delicate brow at his mate. "For what?" he asked her, keeping his voice low, almost trying to not disturb the peaceful silence that surrounded them.  
  
"For everything," Kagome said. "For being my mate, for finding me after all these years, for coming here with me," she told him. "For loving me," she added quietly.  
  
Sesshoumaru smiled at the back of her head. He leaned down so that his head was closer to hers, his lips next to her ear. "I could never stop loving you," he whispered gently, just for her ears. Craning his neck even further, Sesshoumaru nuzzled a sensitive spot just behind her ear.  
  
Kagome sighed happily as his lips brushed over her skin, thoroughly enjoying the attention her mate was giving her. She was slightly surprised, though, when she was suddenly pulled into his lap, but she was quickly settled with one leg on each side of his waist. She leaned forward slightly, slipping her arms around his neck, resting her forehead against his, their lips not quite touching. All either would have to do in order for their lips to be touching would tilt their chin towards the other just a fraction, but neither moved. They just sat there in their own little world, staring into the other's eyes.  
  
"Let's go for a walk," Kagome said suddenly, breaking the silence that had wrapped around them like a blanket. She slowly slid off his lap and grabbed Sesshoumaru's hand.  
  
Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow at the sudden interruption that had been made by his mate. He mentally sighed as he stood up and allowed her to lead him from the house. He didn't show his surprise when she didn't stop at the God Tree, or even when she bypassed the well shrine. He just kept his impassive mask in place as she lead him where she willed.  
  
Kagome lead him through part of the forest surrounding the shrine and came to a stop in a clearing a good distance from the house and shrine that her grandfather would be occupying. She released Sesshoumaru's hand and walked further into the cleared area, leaving him standing alone at the edge. As she walked into the clearing, the sunlight danced across her skin as the light filtered down through the tree branches above. Kagome happily kicked off her sandals and let the lush green grass tickle her toes.  
  
Sesshoumaru stepped into the clearing, watching as his mate happily skipped a short distance ahead of him. He sighed and shook his head at her childish antics, but he still couldn't fight the small smile that her happiness generated on his features. "Where do you think you're going?" he asked as he stepped further into the sunlight.  
  
Kagome looked back at him over her shoulder as she came to a stop. "I wanna go up there," she said, pointing to a thick tree limb that hung over their heads.  
  
Sesshoumaru shook his head as he approached her. "And what do you want to do once you get up there?" he asked as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind. He looked up at the branch, judging how far it was from the ground and calculating the jump that would be needed to get them up there.  
  
"I want to talk," she said evenly as she rested her hands on his forearms. She knew from the time that he had put his arms around her waist that he was already preparing to make the jump. This would not be the first time they had used the shelter of the trees to have a conversation. She felt him bend his knees slightly, and before she knew it, they were seated on the branch she had pointed to earlier.  
  
"So, what do you want to talk about?" he asked as he settled her more firmly in his lap, his hands sliding to her hips to hold her there.  
  
"Why did you change yesterday? Before we got here?" she asked, her tone holding her curiosity out for the world to hear. "I thought we had agreed that you would stay in that other form?" She looked up at him and saw his eyes watching her intently. "I don't really mind, it just threw me for a bit of a loop, that's all," she explained.  
  
"It felt right," Sesshoumaru said, his voice calm as he squeezed her hip reassuringly.  
  
Kagome nodded, accepting his answer, knowing that deep down, she knew it had felt right, too, and only wished that she had introduced him with his full title. Knowing she couldn't change the past, she leaned her head back against his shoulder and just relaxed for a minute.  
  
"I was scared." Kagome's quiet voice broke the silence that had settled around them. She turned her face into the crook of his neck, hiding her still lingering fear.  
  
At first, Sesshoumaru was confused by her sudden statement, wondering what she could be speaking of, and then he remembered her near terror in front of the well house. He didn't speak, letting her decide when she wanted to talk and what she wanted to say. He merely picked her up in his lap and sat her sideways on his legs, curling her legs under her. He wrapped his arms around her, one resting on her head already tucked against his neck, the other rubbing small circles on her arm.  
  
"I was scared," she repeated, her voice still quiet and it almost shook with her words. "I remembered being pulled into the well the first time, and how afraid I had been, and then, from there, every bad memory came rushing at me. Every village we ever entered that had been completely destroyed and everyone killed in them; every youkai that attacked us and got too close to killing one of my friends." She took a deep, shuddering breath before she continued. "When you pushed me back through the well, and then I found out I couldn't go back, I thought I would never see you again."  
  
Sesshoumaru shushed her with a low, comforting growl as he nuzzled her hair. "You don't have to worry about that ever again. I'm never going to leave you alone again. I was still young and foolish at that time, and didn't fully comprehend all of my responsibilities to you as your mate. I will never hurt you like that again," he said, holding her tightly.  
  
Kagome snuggled closer to Sesshoumaru, fisting her hands in the front of his shirt as she placed a light kiss to his neck. "Promise?" she whispered.  
  
"Always."  
  
They sat there for a few more minutes, enjoying the chirping birds around them, as well as the warming sunlight that caressed them through the leaves of the tree they sat in. Kagome sat in his lap, curled into a ball while he held her, the branch beneath them slightly swaying once in a while in the wind.  
  
Kagome suddenly sat up, tipping their balance on the tree limb a little. She smiled when Sesshoumaru righted their seating almost immediately, but then her mind returned to what had caused her sudden movements. "I want to do something," she said, looking at her mate over her shoulder. She saw the goofy grin beginning to appear on his face and nearly growled at him. "Mind out of the gutter, please." She watched the grin disappeared, to be replaced by his usual facade.  
  
Sesshoumaru gripped Kagome to him tighter, and rolled to his right, causing them to fall from the tree. He was impressed when the woman in his arms didn't make a sound at his sudden movements or their rapid fall to the forest floor below them. He landed on his feet with Kagome curled against his chest.  
  
"Next time, warn me," Kagome said as he placed her on her feet.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"So I can tell you not to do that again," she growled as she swatted his shoulder playfully. Shaking her head she reached for his hand. "Come on, I want to talk to Mom and Jii-chan about something," she said as she started to walk back towards the house.  
  
Sesshoumaru merely shook his head at his mate's antics and walked with her, slipping his hand into hers and squeezing gently as they walked.

...  
  
"We went over this already. We can't do that," Jueru told her frustrated daughter.  
  
"I don't want all of the spells removed. Just the ones that conceal how I really look. Jii-chan said the would eventually wear off. And soon. What if that happens while I'm at work, or at a restaurant? It would be a lot easier if those particular spells were taken off now, and you guys teach me how to work them," Kagome said, the only thing keeping her seated on the couch being the fact that Sesshoumaru was holding her down, though no one really noticed except Kagome.  
  
Jueru sighed, running a hand through her hair, and looked at Jii- chan, who was scratching the back of his head and avoiding eye contact with anyone in the room. He cleared his throat a bit, but still looked at the floor.  
  
"She does have a point," he muttered. "Even with Sesshoumaru- sama with her at all times, if that's even possible at work, it could be very dangerous if the spells were to wear off while she's out in public," he said, looking up to see if his daughter was angry with him yet. "You know how humans can be. That's why you wanted me to place the spells on the children in the first place," he added, now looking her in the eye.  
  
Jueru sighed in defeat, her hands dropping to her sides. "Fine, but you're staying here until you master the concealment spell," she told her daughter sternly.  
  
"Thank you, Momma, Jii-chan," Kagome said as she jumped, finally being released by her mate, and ran to give her mother and Jii- chan hugs. "When can we do it," she asked, her happiness pouring out of her eyes as she looked between Jueru and Jii- chan.  
  
Jii-chan sighed as he ran a hand through his loose hair. "Right now. Now, sit down and be still," he told her. He watched her sit down, and then moved to sit directly across from her. "Close your eyes," he directed her as he too closed his eyes. He concentrated on her aura and muttered a few words beneath his breath. A moment later, he opened his eyes and looked at his granddaughter, awe shining in his eyes. He looked at Jueru and saw the same expression on her face that he knew had to be on his own.  
  
"You can go look now," Jueru said, admiring her daughter's revealed features.  
  
Kagome slowly opened her eyes and looked around the room. She saw the love and amazement on her mother's face, as well as Jii- chan's, and then she looked to her mate. The emotions flashing across his face caught her off guard, but also made her want to see what she looked like now. Kagome stood and headed towards the downstairs bathroom, followed by her mother, Sesshoumaru, and then Jii-chan.  
  
Kagome looked in the mirror over the sink and was amazed by what she saw. It was still her looking back at herself, but there were definitely some changes that had occurred. For example, her eyes, no longer a warm brown, were now a sapphire blue, and her hair was now considerably longer, not to mention the bright blue streaks that were laced through her butt length hair. But what really caught her attention was the blue tear drop, about the size of the tip of her index finger, right at the outer corner of her right eye. There was also a streak that went from the outer corner of her left eye, following the contours of her cheek, and ended at her chin, almost like a tear would.  
  
Kagome looked at her mother, who had joined her in the bathroom, and beamed at her. She then smiled at herself in the mirror and nearly giggled when she saw the tip of a fang hanging out over the corner of her lip. She raised her hands to the image in front of her, almost as if she still couldn't believe it was her, and her attention was immediately drawn to the claws that now tipped her fingers.  
  
"You look just like your Papa," Jueru said, pride rolling off her as she looked at her daughter. She started combing her fingers through Kagome's hair, not at all surprised by how soft it was. She tucked her hair behind her ear on the side closest to her and smiled when Kagome was entranced by her now pointed ear.  
  
"Really?" Kagome whispered as her fingers caressed the pointed tip of her ear.  
  
"Yes. You have his markings, and his hair. You and Souta remind me of him so much. It's just one of the many reasons I love you two so much," Jueru said as she moved behind Kagome and looked at their combined reflection.  
  
Sesshoumaru and Jii-chan wisely stayed out of the emotion filled bathroom, though neither could deny that Kagome was breath- taking now. After a few more minutes, Jii-chan cleared his throat, calling the women's attention to him.  
  
"Come, Kagome. You still need to learn the spell," he told her as he turned to walk back to sitting room.  
  
Kagome and Jueru reluctantly left the bathroom, and followed Jii- chan. Spying Sesshoumaru staring at his mate, Jueru made her way into the living room and left them alone for a minute.  
  
Sesshoumaru stopped Kagome as she walked by him and pulled her to him. "Your mother is right; you do look just like your father," he whispered as he wrapped her in his embrace.  
  
Kagome looked up at Sesshoumaru, confused. "How do you know?" she asked, her voice quiet in hopes that they wouldn't be overheard.  
  
"Jii-chan said he thought your grandfather knew my father, and now that I've seen you, really seen you, I remember seeing a pup running around the castle when I was young. He had those exact markings," Sesshoumaru explained as he ran a thumb over her left cheek. "His father didn't even have the same markings, nor have I ever seen a youkai with anything even similar since then."  
  
Kagome was in shock. She wanted to hug Sesshoumaru; to scream; to kiss him; to cry; to bury her face in the front of his shirt. It was so unfair. She hardly knew her own father, and yet he had been alive during the same time period that she had traveled in for so long. So many missed opportunities. She settled for burying her face in his shirt front and breathed deeply. "Were you two close?" she asked, her voice somewhat muffled by his chest and shirt.  
  
"Yes, quite. He would be very proud of you and Souta," Sesshoumaru said as he rubbed small circles on the small of her back.  
  
Kagome looked up at him, unshed tears shining in her eyes and a smile plastered on her face. "Come on. Jii-chan wants me to learn that spell," she said as she pulled away and headed towards the room her family occupied currently.

...  
  
Kagome closed her eyes and concentrated for what felt like the hundredth time that day. "What is seen, what is unseen. What is smelled, what is not smelled. What is heard, what is not heard. Make what is seen, unseen; what is smelled, not smelled; what is heard, not heard," she quietly muttered the words Jii- chan had made her memorize before he would even let her try the concealing spell.  
  
As the words ran through her mind and out through her lips, she thought of how she wanted her appearance to change. She wanted the streaks in her hair to disappear, but wanted it to remain the same length. She thought of her facial markings being gone, as well as her fangs, claws, and pointed ears. She reached deep inside herself and wrapped her miko energy around her body as she finished the spell and had the picture of how she wanted to look clearly in her mind.  
  
She opened her eyes and looked down at her hands as she ran her tongue over her teeth. As far as she could tell, the spell had taken effect. She looked up at her mother and Jii-chan expectantly, waiting for their judgment of her appearance.  
  
"Your hair is still longer," Jueru said critically.  
  
"I did that on purpose. It just seems easier to me to keep my hair one length and not change it back and forth all the time. Besides, I can just get a hair cut or something," Kagome explained as she ran her fingers through the end of her hair.  
  
Jueru nodded, her eyes searching over her daughter, trying to catch any slight flaw that there might be in her concealment of her natural features. When she found none, she wasn't sure whether to be disappointed or elated. "Well, we should do something about your hair before you leave," Jueru said, thinking of a way to be able to spend some more quality time with her daughter.  
  
Kagome grinned. "So I did good?" she asked, looking between her mother and Jii-chan, a smile splitting her face.  
  
"Yes, very good for your first try," Jii-chan said, nodding his approval.  
  
"So what were you thinking of doing about my hair, Momma?" Kagome asked happily.  
  
"Well, it's about lunch time, so I was thinking of making a few sandwiches, to tide everyone over until dinner, and then we could go to a salon and get a hair cut. The boys can come along if they like, though I don't know how much fun they would have," Jueru said, smiling at the face her father made. "And we could go out for dinner. Just have a lot of fun."  
  
Kagome thoughtfully looked at her mate, wondering if he would want to go with them, or stay here at the shrine. Kagome shook her head. The oddness of youkai having built a spiritual shrine still messed with her head a bit.  
  
He surprised her by pulling his cell phone from his pants pocket as he stood, the cell phone being something she didn't even know he had on him. Sesshoumaru flipped the phone open and walked out of the room.  
  
Kagome looked after her mate curiously and then at her mother, a questioning look on her face. Upon seeing Jueru shake her head, Kagome turned back to looking through the doorway her mate had just mysteriously disappeared through. She still sat confused when he reappeared a few minutes later, tucking the cell phone safely back in his pants pocket. She gave Sesshoumaru a look that said he would need to explain a few things to her because just then, her curiosity was killing her. _'Curiosity killed the cat,'_ she thought. _'Good thing I'm an inu youkai,'_ she added with a mental smirk.  
  
"I suggest you do not linger here long. Especially if you wish to be ready by the time the limo gets here," Sesshoumaru told them. "Souta and Jii-chan may come if they wish," he added.  
  
Kagome gaped at her mate. "You're coming with Momma and me?" she asked, shocked that he would want to do something so mundane as following her and her mother while they wandered about a mall for hours, window shopping, and then leaving the mall with only a few small items.  
  
"Yes. Now, hurry. The limo will be here to pick us up at 1 o'clock. That gives you twenty minutes," Sesshoumaru said, waiting for his mate to realize he had said they would be going in a limo. _'Three ... Two ... One,' _he counted down in his head.  
  
"Wait a minute. Limo? Who has a limo, and why are we going in it?" Kagome asked, looking at him like he had lost it or something.  
  
"Yes, a limo. I have one, and I want to treat you. I'm not the Lord of the Western Lands for nothing," he said as he stood in the middle of the room, his hands in his pants pockets. "Oh, and Jueru, you needn't worry about anything for lunch. That will be taken care of, as well."  
  
Jueru smiled and nodded, then turned and walked towards her room. "Kagome, would you let Souta know that he needs to get ready to go, please?" she asked just before she rounded a corner.  
  
"She doesn't need to. I get to ride in a limo. That is so cool," Souta said from part way up the stairs as he ran back to his room.  
  
Kagome shook her head as she turned to look at Jii-chan; only he wasn't in the chair he had been sitting in just a minute ago. She looked around the room and finally spotted him by the door. "Are you coming, too, Jii-chan?" she asked.  
  
"Of course I am. You don't expect me to stay here by myself while you all go have a good time?" he asked with a grin. Jii- chan went to his room to get changed, leaving Kagome and Sesshoumaru alone.  
  
"Are you going to change, too?" Kagome asked, looking at Sesshoumaru.  
  
"Yes. I'll wait until you've changed."  
  
She looked at him, confused. "Why not just change at the same time?" she asked, cutely cocking her head to the side.  
  
"You know very well why," he said sternly.  
  
Kagome shook her head and smiled. "Have it your way," she said as she left him to go change.  
  
Seventeen minutes later, they were all in the hallway leading to the front door, ready to go, when a knock came from the door. Kagome opened the door and was greeted by the site of a short, stout, old man, with an odd shaped staff, standing on the front porch.  
  
"Hello, Jaken," Kagome said as she turned back to gather her purse and keys, slipping her feet into her shoes. Then, she looked at Sesshoumaru. "How did I know that was Jaken?" she asked, her voice calm and even.  
  
Sesshoumaru had to fight the urge to start laughing from the combined sight of Jaken in complete shock and Kagome's simply stated question. He just shook his head and began pushing her out the door. The rest of the family followed them out the door, with the small man Kagome had identified as Jaken leading the way to a black stretch limo. Jaken stood there with the door open and Kagome's family immediately got in, Kagome sliding in shortly after them. Souta was slightly shocked when a strange man got into the limo after Kagome and sat next to her.  
  
"Who's that and where's Sesshoumaru?" Souta asked, looking at the strange man sitting next to his sister.  
  
Kagome looked next to her. "Sesshoumaru, what's with the new look?" she asked taking his hand in hers.  
  
Souta looked confused. "That's Sesshoumaru?"  
  
Kagome nodded. "Yea. He can change how he looks, though I'm not sure why he has now," she said, looking pointedly at her mate.  
  
"This is the form I've used to gain power among humans. People tend to find it odd if someone has a limo yet no reputation that they think would merit one. So I did a few things to avoid too many questions being asked," he explained. He noticed their confused expressions, and continued. "I've written a few best- seller books, as well as, built a small corporation. You might have heard of it. Keikan Corp."  
  
Jueru gasped. Keikan Corp was one of the biggest companies in all of Japan.  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked a bit. "I see you've heard of it."  
  
"How could anyone not have heard of it?" Jueru asked.  
  
"So what is your name in this form?" Kagome asked.  
  
"Sumisu Jonason."  
  
"Wow, a normal name for once," Kagome joked.  
  
The rest of the ride to the mall was somewhat normal. Kagome's family asking questions, Sesshoumaru answering them with practiced efficiency. Kagome sat next to her mate, listening to his explanations. Apparently he had done quite a lot over the years, not that he hadn't had lots of time to do it all in.  
  
Once they reached the mall, they got out of the limo, Kagome and Sesshoumaru getting out last, to be greeted by a large crowd that had gathered around the noticeable limo. Kagome noticed, much to her amusement, that most of the curious spectators were women. Thankfully, there were several police officers ready to make a pathway for them.  
  
Kagome slipped her arm through Sesshoumaru's and leaned over to whisper in her mate's ear. "Did you plan this?" she asked, her irritation clearly showing in her voice.  
  
"Yes, but you need not worry. This is only for publicity. They will leave us be soon enough. Once in a while, I need to make appearances. When better than when I'm with my mate," Sesshoumaru whispered back.  
  
Kagome looked around them, and noticed several members of the press eagerly pressing in against the police officers, hurriedly shouting questions to Sesshoumaru. She saw him glance at her questioningly and she nodded. Kagome looked at her family and nodded at them, letting them know they would join them inside later.  
  
"Sumisu-sama," one of the reporters yelled to get his attention.  
  
Sesshoumaru and Kagome stopped as he nodded at the reporter to continue with his question.  
  
"Sumisu-sama, I'm sure all of us here would like to know who this enchanting creature is that you have on your arm?" the reporter asked, his pen poised over his notepad, ready to take notes.  
  
"This is my fiancé, Higurashi Kagome."  
  
"Who were those other people that got out of the limo with you?" asked another reporter.  
  
"Her family."  
  
"A nice outing with the family. Does that mean we can expect a wedding soon?" yet another reporter asked.  
  
"Yes. Now if you'll all excuse us," Sesshoumaru said as he began walking away with Kagome still attached to his arm. Behind them, they could hear the press clamoring to ask more questions, and the girls chatting about how Sumisu Jonason was finally taken.  
  
"Gee, I didn't know my mate was such a playboy," Kagome said with a smirk.  
  
Sesshoumaru sighed and looked down at his mate. He shook his head when he heard her giggle. "Come, let us find our family," he said as he lead her towards the food court, his choice of words not being lost on his mate.  
  
Kagome and Sesshoumaru quickly found their family. The first thing they did was go to a salon and they all got a hair cut. Afterwards, they walked around the huge mall, window shopping for things they would like to buy. Jii-chan and Souta went off to look at some electronics, leaving Jueru, Kagome, and Sesshoumaru to window shop. As they walked, Kagome felt a familiar aura following them around, but she knew it wasn't a threat.  
  
"Kagome-chan, is that you?" a male voice asked off to the side of where Kagome and her family were walking.  
  
Kagome looked to where the voice had come from and was shocked by what she saw. "Ko ... Kouga-kun?"


	7. A Lost Mate

Disclaimer: I hold no rights to Inuyasha in any way. Nor the quote below.

A/N: I know I haven't been posting chapters with lemons on here, but this chapter only contains a small lemon. Now, I ask that if you are not mature enough to not report me to the guy with the HUGE redwood up his ass, a.k.a. the owner of this site, then, don't even bother to continue reading this fic. I'll be nice, and put little markers in when the lemon begins and when it ends. Other than that, read at your own risk.

"I liked you cause I thought you had some feeling, but, when you didn't, I liked you even more." - Mae West  
  
**Chapter 8: A Lost Mate**  
  
She ran through the forest, her fear fueling her body as she pushed it way beyond its limits. She zigzagged through the trees, tying to escape whatever it was that was chasing her. She wasn't sure what it was, having only caught a glimpse of the creatures glowing red eyes, but she had the feeling that she didn't want to find out. Therefore, she pushed her legs to keep moving as she weaved through more trees.  
  
Hoping that she had lost it, she ducked into a bunch of bushes. She crouched down low, trying to conceal herself, in case the creature passed by. She found it odd that she did not have to calm her breathing, but didn't think on it long as she heard the sound of a snapping twig and rustling leaves.  
  
She nearly jumped out of her skin when a hand landed on her shoulder. She slowly turned around, expecting to see some sort of a monster standing behind her, but instead, she saw an oddly familiar and handsome man standing with his arm outstretched and his hand lightly resting on her shoulder.  
  
She watched as the moonlight shimmered on his long black hair while the wind played with it, whipping it around his shoulders. Her eyes moved to his piercing blue eyes that were staring intently at her. She could have sworn she knew him from somewhere, but she had no idea who he was, or where she might have met a man like him before.  
  
She stared at him, her eyes moving to his lips as he began to speak, but no words were heard. He suddenly disappeared, leaving her alone in the cover of the bushes.  
  
After he was gone and she was alone, staring at nothing, she heard his words.  
  
"Why do you run from me, Mate?"

...  
  
Jade sat upright in her bed, her hand over her heart as it tried to pound its way out of her ribcage. She had another one of those dreams, this one much more detailed than any of the previous ones.  
  
Quietly getting out of bed, she moved to the small desk where her laptop sat in her room. She sat down, hitting the power button on the small machine and switching on her desk lamp, and waited for the computer to start up.  
  
A few minutes later, she sat at her desk, typing away at an untitled document opened up on her computer desktop. Sighing as she typed the last few words, she remembered to save the document before she shut her laptop back down for the night. Jade switched her lamp off and went back to her bed, hoping to be able to sleep well for the rest of the night.  
  
Kagome-san would be returning the next afternoon, and she had much to speak with her about. Most importantly, the description of the dream that she just saved to her computer.  
  
Jade snuggled back down in the covers of her bed, rolling onto her side as she tried to go back to sleep. As she drifted off to sleep, her mind was filled with visions of piercing blue eyes watching her expectantly.

...  
  
Kagome sat curled up in Sesshoumaru's lap as he sat on her bed, her head resting on his shoulder. As he sat there reading, his hand occasionally sliding up and down her arm, Kagome sat thinking about what had happened at the mall earlier.  
  
Not only had they run into Kouga, she found out that he was looking for the reincarnation of his mate. Kagome had been shocked to learn that he had even had a mate. Especially when he denied it being Ayame. She would have sworn the two wolf youkai would have gotten together after she mated with Sesshoumaru. He wouldn't tell her and Sesshoumaru who his mate had been, leaving Kagome to speculate over who it could be.  
  
"Who do you think it is?" Kagome suddenly ask, looking up at Sesshoumaru.  
  
Sesshoumaru shifted his gaze from his book to the woman in his lap. "Who do I think who is?" he asked confused.  
  
"Kouga's mate. Who do you think it is?" she asked, placing her head on Sesshoumaru's chest.  
  
"I don't know. I'm quite curious myself. But I'm sure that when he's ready, he'll tell you," Sesshoumaru replied, closing his book and putting it on the night stand.  
  
"What do you mean, 'he'll tell me'?" Kagome asked.  
  
"He's much more comfortable around you. If we're going to find out, I'll just have to allow you two to talk in private some time. Not that I'm particularly happy about it," Sesshoumaru told her, placing a kiss on the top of her head.  
  
Kagome tilted her head up a bit so that she could look at her mate. "You have nothing to worry about. He's looking for his mate. And I have my mate. Nothing to worry about at all. Or, do I need to remind you of that?" she asked, a smirk splaying across her lips. She moved so that she was straddling his hips, her hands on his shoulders, his hands instantly moving to her hips, and she leaned forward, kissing Sesshoumaru's right cheek as she slid her hands around his neck.  
  
She leaned back. "Convinced?" she asked, her smirk widening.  
  
"Hell no," Sesshoumaru growled, gripping her hips tighter and yanking her forward so that she fell against his chest.  
  
Kagome smiled. "Well, maybe this will do it," she said as she leaned forward and kissed Sesshoumaru. She gently sucked his bottom lips into her mouth, gently nibbling on it.  
  
Sesshoumaru growled and moved his hand up to the back of her neck, angling her head so that he could deepen the kiss. He suddenly sat up, making Kagome fall on her back on the bed.  
  
Kagome glared up at him as she laid sprawled on the bed. She was about to yell at him when he grabbed the waist of her pajama pants and panties, pulling them down in one swift jerk.  
  
"You won't be needing these," Sesshoumaru said with a smirk as he tossed them on the floor beside the bed. He moved so that he was kneeling over her and shoved his hands under her shirt, pushing it up her body as he moved up her body. He pulled the shirt over her head and dropped it to the floor. "Won't be needing that either." Sesshoumaru smirked at her as he settled himself between her legs.

**Lemon Begins ...**  
  
Kagome slid her hands from his waist up to the front of his shirt, her fingers beginning to work at the buttons they found there. A few of them had already been undone, his shirt already pulled from the waist of his slacks he had worn that day. Her fingers worked quickly through the rest of the buttons, and soon her hands were pushing his shirt off his shoulders and down his arms, until it caught at his elbows. Unfortunately, that's about all she was able to do while Sesshoumaru's lips wreaked havoc on her neck and his hands on her breasts. Moving her hands to rest on his shoulders, Kagome just arched up into his body and enjoyed what he was doing to her for a moment.  
  
Sesshoumaru pulled up from the hickey he was creating on her neck and looked her in the eye. Sitting up a bit, he finished removing his shirt, not once breaking eye contact with his mate. Leaning back down, he hovered over her, teasing her with his partial nudity.  
  
Kagome was so aroused, she could hardly concentrate on anything other than her mate. It always amazed her after each of their lovemaking sessions, how his hands seemed to know just how to move to bring her the most pleasure she had ever experienced. It was like every part of his body was just for her pleasure.  
  
"Kagome," Sesshoumaru said, trying to get her attention. When she looked at him, he started speaking again. "Take off your concealing spell," he told her.  
  
Kagome looked up at him and nodded, closing her eyes. A moment later, the transformation overtook her features and she opened her sapphire blue eyes to look up at her mate, confused. "Why did you want me to change?" she asked, her voice a bit husky with her lust.  
  
Sesshoumaru smiled as he leaned down to nuzzle behind her right ear. "I'll tell you later," he replied as he once again began to suckle on her neck. He couldn't help but smirk when she hooked a leg around his waist.  
  
As Kagome hooked her leg around her mate's waist, she pouted when she felt his pants still snuggly hugging his hips. "Ses ... shou ... maru," she moaned brokenly. A suddenly clear thought hit her, and she smirked. "Maru-chan, it's not fair that you still have your pants on," Kagome whined as she tangled her fingers in his hair and tugged up a bit.  
  
Sesshoumaru's head suddenly jerked up at the nickname. "That's a new one," he said with a smirk.  
  
Kagome's hands quickly moved down to the front of his pants and had them opened in a matter of seconds. Using her leg hooked over his hip, she pushed his pants down to his ankles, where Sesshoumaru kicked them off the bed, leaving him completely naked.  
  
"Maru-chan, I need you. I need you in me, now," Kagome whined as she pulled at his shoulders with her hands.  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked at her as he wordlessly complied, driving his hard length into her waiting womanhood, a deep, satisfied growl spilling from his lips. He remained still for a moment, just enjoying being wrapped in her velvet heat once more. Sensing her growing irritation at his stalling, Sesshoumaru pulled out until only his tip remained in her, then harshly thrust back in. Sesshoumaru set a steady rhythm of thrusting in and out, which Kagome matched thrust for thrust.  
  
Kagome groaned when Sesshoumaru lowered his mouth to her right breast, her left hand tangling in his hair to hold his head to her chest. She hooked her other leg around his waist, allowing Sesshoumaru deeper access into her body and giving her better leverage to thrust back.  
  
Sesshoumaru suddenly stopped in mid-thrust and pulled his head up from her breast, smirking at his mate. He quickly unlocked her ankles from around his waist and hooked his arms under her knees, bringing them to rest at his elbows, practically folding Kagome in half, opening her up more. He pushed back in, earning a gasp from his mate. He would have smirked if he hadn't been trying to hold back a groan loud enough to alert the entire house of their activities. To keep himself quiet, he placed his mouth over the mark on the juncture of her neck and shoulder. Continuing with his thrusting motion, Sesshoumaru fought the urge to sink his fangs into his mate's skin, renewing the claiming mark he had left there so long ago.  
  
Kagome wrapped her arms around Sesshoumaru's shoulders; her hands sliding down his back to hold him to her more. A particularly deep thrust almost made her cry out, but she muffled the sound against Sesshoumaru's exposed shoulder. Her fangs lightly scraped against his skin, which, it seemed to Kagome, made her mate move faster against her. With each thrust of her mate's hips, she could feel the pleasurable pressure that her mate had reacquainted her with recently building to crest once again.  
  
Sesshoumaru couldn't hold back any longer. Her scent, the way her womanhood felt wrapped tightly around his length, the way she was clinging to him in her lust; it all heightened his lust and his arousal. Thrusting in deeply one last time, Sesshoumaru spilled his seed in her womb, sinking his fangs into the skin under his mouth.  
  
The feel of Sesshoumaru's seed spilling into her, as well as his fangs in her shoulder, pushed Kagome over the edge, her orgasm hitting her with tremendous force. To keep herself from screaming his name, she dug her fangs into the flesh her mouth had been resting on, muffling her cry with his skin.  
  
As the aftershock tremors lessened, Sesshoumaru eased Kagome's legs back down and slipped his arms free of her legs, resting himself on his elbows as he hovered over her, his teeth still lodged in her flesh. He waited until he felt his mate pull her fangs from his shoulders before he did the same, his tongue flicking out to catch a drop of her blood before it slid to the bedding below them. Sesshoumaru lowered his lips to her skin, his tongue gently lapping at the blood that was seeping from the fresh wound.

**Lemon Ends ...**  
  
After she pulled her fangs from Sesshoumaru's flesh, Kagome gently cleaned the wound she had created on her mate in her lust. She couldn't believe that she had bitten her mate. The least she could do was clean it up for him. Kagome wrapped her arms around his shoulders, keeping her face close to his shoulder.  
  
A few minutes of silence passed with them just lapping at the wounds they made on each other. With one final lick, Sesshoumaru pulled back far enough that he could look at Kagome. He nearly smiled when he realized that she kept her face buried in the crook of his neck to avoid looking at him, but refrained from doing so. He knew she was probably a bit embarrassed about biting him. Instead of saying anything, he just moved his right hand up to her shoulder and gently tried to push her away.  
  
Kagome felt her mate try to gently push her away from him, but instead of moving, she just clung to him tighter and shook her head no.  
  
"I bit you," she whispered, her embarrassment showing in her trembling voice.  
  
Sesshoumaru shook his head and placed a gentle kiss on the new mark. "I bit you, too," he reminded her. "It was just an instinct. All that means is that the spells that were placed on you when you were young are now wearing off. It's nothing to worry about," he reassured her.  
  
Kagome pulled back a bit, so that her lips were right by his ear, still not wanting to look him in the eye yet. "But what if the spells wear off to quickly, and someone makes me angry and I hurt them?" she asked in a whisper.  
  
Sesshoumaru could feel her trembling against him. In an effort to calm her, he rolled them over, so that she lay on top of him, and wrapped his arms around her. "If you're that worried, we can take a few weeks off work. You and I can work on your control. You have nothing to worry about. I promise, I'll take care of you," he reassured her. He brought a hand up to rest on the back of her head and gently pushed her head against his chest.  
  
Kagome left one arm around her mate's neck, the other hand moving to rest in front of her face on Sesshoumaru's chest. "I trust you, but I'm still afraid," she said, her voice still quiet.  
  
Sesshoumaru sighed quietly, before he kissed the top of her head. "When I sit up, wrap your legs around my waist," he ordered her. When he felt her nod, he suddenly sat up, swinging his legs over the side of the bed, suppressing a groan as his member, that was still lodged deep in his mate, was squeezed by her muscles as she clamped her legs around his waist. Sesshoumaru wrapped his arms around her torso, stood up, moved the covers out of the way, laid back down on the bed in a position almost identical to the one they were in before, and pulled the covers over them just as a knock came at the door.  
  
"Sesshoumaru-sama, Kagome-chan, can I talk to you two for a minute?" Jueru's voice came from the other side of the door.  
  
Kagome looked at Sesshoumaru, a blush coloring her cheeks. "Uh, just a sec, Momma," she responded as she placed her hands on Sesshoumaru's shoulders and began pulling herself up and off of his still hard manhood.  
  
The two of them suppressed a groan as Sesshoumaru lowered his hands to her waist and helped lift her up. She slipped off to his side, next to the wall and after making sure the blanket was covering both of them, she looked at the door.  
  
"You can come in now, Momma," Kagome called as she snuggled up to Sesshoumaru's shoulder, his arm wrapped around her shoulders.  
  
Jueru poked her head in first, before she walked in all the way, and sat at the foot of the bed, looking at the couple. "I'm not interrupting anything, am I? " she asked as she sat down.  
  
Kagome sighed and shook her head, then looked at her mother. "You and I both know that if we had been doing anything, you would have heard us." Kagome glared a bit. "In fact, I'm sure you did hear us, even though we tried to be quiet."  
  
Jueru sighed and looked down at her hands where they were folded in her lap. "You're right, dear. I guess I'm just not use to you knowing yet. I'm sorry." She sighed once again. "Then again, you could think of it as me asking if I was interrupting an important conversation. Of course, I heard some muttering, but that's about it," she said with a slight smile.  
  
Kagome sighed and sat up, still holding the blanket to her up to her shoulders. Shaking her head, she looked at her mother. "Can we just drop it?" she asked. At Jueru's nod, Kagome asked, "So what did you want?"  
  
"Just one question: Did you let your spell slip on purpose?" Jueru asked, a look of concern crossing her features.  
  
"It was on purpose," Sesshoumaru said as he sat up, his hair falling down his back to reveal the still bloody mark on his shoulder.  
  
Jueru noticed the bloody mark on his shoulder for what it really was, then look to her daughters shoulder and saw the blood that was seeping through the sheet that was covering her shoulder. "I see," she responded, a bit of a smile beginning to develop.  
  
Sesshoumaru smirked at the look on her face, though he didn't particularly like the smile. Still, he wrapped his arm around his mate's waist, his hand slipping under the sheets to hold her stomach. "And before you ask, children will come later."  
  
Jueru smiled at him. "Are mothers that predictable?" she asked. At his nod, she giggled a bit before she remembered the reason she came up. "As for why I bothered you, I was wondering what time you would be leaving tomorrow? You've already pretty much mastered the spell, and from what I can tell, you have good control, so there's no reason for you to stay here. But I want you to call me every week to tell me how you're doing," Jueru said, her concerned statement turning into a bit of an order.  
  
Kagome smiled and shook her head. "I guess, since there's no reason for me to stay here, we'll leave after breakfast. I have this feeling that Jade will want to talk to me tomorrow after I get home," she replied.  
  
Jueru smiled. "How is Jade doing anyway?" she asked.  
  
"Momma, can we talk about her in the morning?" Kagome asked, her eyes drooping a bit. "I'm really tired and just wanna go to sleep," she added.  
  
"Of course, dear. I'll see you two in the morning and you two might want to clean your shoulders up a bit," she said, standing and moving to stand by the door. "How about a late brunch tomorrow?" she asked with her hand on the door.  
  
"An American style brunch?" Kagome asked with a grin.  
  
"Of course, dear," Jueru said with a smile before she left the two alone once more.  
  
"Come here," Sesshoumaru growled as he flopped back down on the bed, pulling Kagome down with him. Reaching over to the bedside table, he turned the lamp off, leaving them in the dark.  
  
Kagome snuggled up to Sesshoumaru's side, resting her head on his shoulder, her eyes level with the mark on his shoulder. She felt his arm that was around her waist pull her closer to him, as she tossed her leg over his, her arm moving to drape across his chest.  
  
"Get some sleep, koi," Sesshoumaru told her, then placed a gentle kiss on her head.  
  
"What about the blood?" Kagome asked.  
  
"It'll be fine until morning," he told her. "Now get some rest."  
  
"No," Kagome said, shaking her head on his shoulder.  
  
"No what? You don't want to sleep?" Sesshoumaru asked.  
  
"No. I want to talk."  
  
"Hm, I see. And what do you want to talk about?" Sesshoumaru asked, his curiosity peeked.  
  
"Children," Kagome said a bit timidly.  
  
Sesshoumaru smiled, turning on his side, and scooted down so that they could watch one another, even in the dark. "What do you want to talk about children for?" he asked, his golden eyes shimmering in the dark.  
  
"We're going to have some eventually, right?" she asked. She saw him nod. "Well, I just want to know how many, and when," she told him.  
  
"It depends on how many you want. And we can wait quite as long or as little as you want to have children. There is no need for us to rush," Sesshoumaru told her.  
  
Kagome smiled at Sesshoumaru and kissed him on the nose. "Thank you," she said.  
  
"Now get some rest. If you have anymore questions later, we can talk more when we get home," Sesshoumaru told her, then placed a goodnight kiss on her forehead.  
  
Kagome nodded once his lips left her skin, then snuggled into his arms, slowly drifting off to sleep. Sesshoumaru smiled as he held his mate while she slept. Tucking his nose in the crook of her shoulder, Sesshoumaru drifted off to sleep.

...  
  
The next morning passed quickly, and it was soon time for Sesshoumaru and Kagome to head back home. A few quick goodbyes, and they were on their way, Kagome once again the passenger seat of her car. Another few hours of driving, with only one stop at a fast food place so they wouldn't have to cook anything once they got back, found them grabbing overnight bags out of the car and lugging them to the elevator, and eventually their apartment.  
  
As Kagome stood in the hallway, unlocking her door, the door across from hers opened to reveal a slightly disheveled Jade. Kagome shooed her mate into their apartment, then turned to Jade.  
  
"Hello Jade-chan. How have you been?" Kagome greeted with a tired smile.  
  
"Hello Kagome-chan. Could we talk once you get unpacked?" she asked, her smile looking as tired as Kagome's.  
  
"Of course. I figured you would want to talk once I got home. My clothes can wait, if you want to talk now," Kagome told her, somewhat gesturing to her bag hanging off her shoulder.  
  
"I would like that, Kagome-chan. My place or yours?" she asked with a grin, the question having become a bit habit between the two.  
  
"We can talk over here. Besides, there are a few things I should probably tell you," Kagome said, her smile lessening a bit at the thought that, though she hadn't exactly lied to Jade, she hadn't told her the whole truth.  
  
Jade nodded silently and turned to lock her door, but hesitated. "I need to go get my laptop. I'll be just a second," she explained as she disappeared into her apartment. A minute later she popped back out of her apartment with her laptop and keys and was surprised to see Kagome still standing there, but shrugged it off. She followed Kagome into her apartment and watched as the young woman walked up to Desumasuku and talk to him quietly for a moment before handing him her bag.  
  
Kagome turned back to see a slightly curious Jade watching her and Sesshoumaru. She was just glad that he had changed back into his 'Desumasuku' form before they got to the building. She led Jade into the living room after offering to get her something to drink and being refused for the time being. The each sat down, Jade in a plush chair while Kagome lounged on the couch.  
  
"So, you wanted to talk. I suppose you had another one of those confusing dreams?" Kagome asked, watching Jade for a non-verbal response to her question, like when the other girl tensed when Kagome mentioned her dreams.  
  
"Yea, I did. Give me a minute to start my laptop up. I wrote it down as soon as I woke up," Jade told her while starting up the small computer. Once she had, she opened up the digital notepad she had saved her dream to and moved to sit next to Kagome, handing her the laptop and pointing to the screen. "Read that."  
  
Kagome quickly read over the typed page and looked up at Jade. "Mate? Is that the exact word he used?" she asked, not quite believing.  
  
Just then, Sesshoumaru walked into the living room and moved to sit next to Kagome.  
  
"Yea, that was the exact word," Jade replied, looking up at Kagome, then Sesshoumaru. "Who is that?" she asked Kagome, pointing at Sesshoumaru.  
  
Kagome looked at her mate, her eyes instantly noticing the facial markings, golden eyes, and white hair, then turned back to Jade. "Remember, I said I was mated to a youkai?" she asked. She watched Jade nod. "This is my mate, Sesshoumaru. He and Desumasuku are the same person. Youkai have spells that they use to conceal their features so that humans won't see them," Kagome explained.  
  
"Oh. Nice to meet you. I think. Even though, technically, we've already met," she said with a small smile.  
  
"I've got something to show you," Kagome said. She sat on the couch between her mate and friend for a moment, and then her transformation overtook her body. She turned to look at Jade, waiting for her response.  
  
"You're a youkai?" she asked.  
  
Kagome nodded.  
  
"Why didn't you tell me before?" Jade asked.  
  
"I honestly didn't know. I had no clue until you said the name Gyousei Jueru. That was my mother's name before she married my father," Kagome explained.  
  
"Wait. You two are mates, but the first time at the office, you didn't know his name. Why?" Jade asked.  
  
"We hadn't see each other in years," Kagome responded. She looked at Jade and saw her next question before it was even asked. It was the obvious question. "Before you even ask, it's a very long story why. Basically, when I was fifteen, I could travel back and forth in time to the Feudal Era, where Sesshoumaru and I eventually met and fell in love. Then, something happened so that I could no longer go back in time, and I was stuck here. I was a fool, and he was a jerk, and we ended up not seeing each other until last week."  
  
While Kagome had been giving Jade the brief overview of their history, Sesshoumaru had taken the laptop and was reading over the typed up description of the woman's dream. He looked at his mate once she was done speaking, then at the woman next to her.  
  
"This Sesshoumaru was not a jerk," he said calmly. He looked at his mate. "Have you read her description of the man in her dream?"  
  
"Yes. Why?" she asked.  
  
"Does it remind you of anyone?"  
  
"Kouga. But I don't see how." She looked at her mate, then at Jade.  
  
"Perhaps she is a reincarnation." He turned his attention to the redheaded woman. "You say in your description that you do not know him, yet he is familiar to you?"  
  
Jade nodded. "I've never met him before, but it was like my heart knew something my brain didn't."  
  
Kagome nodded. "That isn't your natural hair color, is it?" she asked suddenly.  
  
"No, it's not. How did you know?"  
  
"Because Ayame was a redhead. But she was also a youkai and you are not." Kagome stared off into space for a moment before a wicked smile crossed her features.  
  
"What are you planning?" Sesshoumaru asked, arching up his right eyebrow at his mate.  
  
"Kouga is looking for the reincarnation of his mate. We're pretty sure Jade is said reincarnation. How about we take them out to dinner?" she asked, glancing at Jade.  
  
"Who is this Kouga guy that you are talking about?" Jade asked.  
  
"I'm pretty sure that he's the guy from your dream," Kagome replied.  
  
"I kind of figured that much out. But, who is he?" she asked.  
  
"He is a wolf youkai that I met during my travels in the feudal era. He had become quite taken with me, but I told him no enough times, that he finally figured it out. But I must say, he's very persistent. He really is a nice guy," Kagome said.  
  
"Kouga," Jade murmured, but those beside her still heard her. "That name; I know it from somewhere, but it's like there's something there in my mind that's stopping me from remembering."  
  
"Perhaps if you meet with Kouga, you'll be able to remember something," Kagome suggested.  
  
Jade nodded. "Yes. Could you call him now? Please," she said distantly. "Set it up for tomorrow night, if you could?"  
  
Kagome nodded and stood to go into the kitchen to call, pulling Sesshoumaru with her as she went into the other room. She quickly picked up the phone, dialing the number she had been given the day before, and was soon making plans for dinner the next night with Kouga.  
  
After hanging up, she looked at Sesshoumaru. "Does she remind you of anyone?" Kagome asked, her curiosity making her mind run at full speed trying to figure out who the young woman could be, or who she could have been in the past.  
  
Sesshoumaru shook his head. "I haven't any idea. But I am sure we will find out tomorrow night at dinner, if she is indeed the woman Kouga looks for," he replied.  
  
Kagome nodded, and then went back into the living room, sitting down next to the slightly dazed woman while Sesshoumaru stayed in the kitchen. Kagome talked to Jade a bit longer, until a knock came at the door. Kagome quickly hid her youkai features with her concealment spell, and then went to answer the door while Jade grabbed her laptop and began to shut it down.  
  
Kagome returned to the living room a moment later with a very worried Kat following behind. "I found this on my doorstep," Kagome joked, jerking a thumb in the direction of Kat when Jade looked up at them.  
  
"Jade, where have you been?" Kat asked as she moved to sit beside her roommate.  
  
"Sorry. I didn't have time to leave a note. I came over to talk to Kagome-chan after she returned from her trip," Jade said as she stood up with her laptop and keys.  
  
Kat shook her head and stood up. "Well, I ordered out for dinner, and it should be here in a few minutes, so we should get going. I will you see you at work tomorrow, Kagome-chan," Kat said with a quick bow as she headed toward the door.  
  
Jade quickly bowed to Kagome as well. "Thank you for the information, Kagome-chan. I'll see you tomorrow," she said as she left.


	8. Dinner Dates

A/N: Wow! Another chapter already. Don't expect updates like this all the time, though. Anyway, go read now. Then I can go work on Cherries.

"I liked you cause I thought you had some feeling, but, when you didn't, I liked you even more." - Mae West

**Chapter 9: Dinner Dates**

Kagome growled as her hand snapped out from under the comfort of her blanket and crashed down on her alarm clock, effectively silencing the annoying buzzing. Resting her head on Sesshoumaru's shoulder, she snuggled back, preparing to go back to sleep.

"We have work today," Sesshoumaru said, smiling at the way his mate shook her head and hooked a leg over his. "No matter how much you deny it, the fact still remains the same. We have to get up," he scolded, pulling the blanket off of her some.

Kagome gripped the blanket in her hands tightly. "Just a few more minutes?" she pleaded.

Before Sesshoumaru could answer, Kagome's cell phone started to ring, drawing her up out of the blankets. "This had better be good," she grumbled as she grabbed the small electronic device and answered. "Moshi moshi." She listened for a moment, nodding occasionally, even though the person on the other end couldn't see the movement. "Ahuh. Whenever you get there." She paused and sighed. "Of course he'll be there. He works there." Another sigh. "Calm down. I'll handle it. Yeah, yeah. See you then. Bai bai."

Kagome shook her head as she pushed the end button on her cell before she put it back on her bedside table. Glancing at the clock, she sighed as she stood from the bed. "We should get ready for work," Kagome grumbled as she headed for the shower.

Sesshoumaru shook his head at her behavior before calling after her, "Didn't I just say that before your phone went off?"

"Yes, but you're nice and quiet about it. It's impossible to fal back asleep after talking to Kouga," Kagome replied as she started the shower up. "And before you ask, that was Kouga on the phone. He wants to take me to lunch so we can talk about dinner tonight and Jade." She paused and snorted. "He was rather adamant that you not come though," she told her mate, puzzling over the possible reason why the wolf youkai would want to talk to only her.

"He probably wishes to tell you the name of his mate," Sesshoumaru said, sliding up behind his mate and slipping his arms around her waist. "I got the feeling he had immense respect for me in the past."

"As should be expected for anyone of your rank," Kagome interrupted with a smile, gripping his forearms.

"Yes, and I don't even get that respect from my mate," he grumbled. "Anyway." He cleared his throat. "I think Kouga may have thought that I would not have approved of who he had taken as a mate. I never met her before."

Kagome sighed and shook her head, slinking out of Sesshoumaru's arms and stepping into the shower. A second later, she felt her mate step into the shower behind her. Together, they showered, then got ready for work.

"Do you want to drive together or seperately?" Sesshoumaru asked, gathering up his things he would need for work.

Kagome sighed. "Well, thanks to your little stunt at the mall, I'm sure everyone thinks I'm marrying Sumisu Jonason, so it would be weird if I showed up with someone that's technically not him. Besides, no one knows about us."

"Point taken," Sesshoumaru grumbled. "Well, we'll just have to quit our jobs and live off of my fortunes," he told her, the corners of his lips turning up.

"Wait, fortunes? As in plural?" Kagome asked, her mouth falling open. She shook her head before he could reply. "I can't just up and quit my job," she told him, her voice rising slightly in anger.

Sesshoumaru placed a hand on her arm to placate her. "I understand that you have responsibilities now, just as you had in the past, and I do not expect you to give them up now any more than I did then. But you have more options this time around. You could work from home," he told her. "And I could go back to running one of my other businesses."

"But we would have to hire someone new to replace you," Kagome said, mentally going over everything that would have to be done before she could switch to working from home.

"Not true. Inuyasha would just have to quit slacking off so much. He can do the work of at least three men," Sesshoumaru responded.

Kagome just smiled at him. "You just want to keep me in bed all day, everyday," she accused, but she couldn't keep the smile off her face. She checked her watch and grimaced. "We need to get going if we're going to make it to work on time," she said, grabbing her keys and briefcase.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "We can talk about this more tonight, after dinner," he said, opening the door.

-----

Kagome sighed as she started on yet another stack of papers. She looked up when a knock came at her door and smiled at Kouga. "Right on time to save me from drowning under all this paperwork," she told him.

"Glad I could be of service," the camouflaged wold demon said with an overly dramatic bow, earning him a giggle. So, where is he?" he asked, looking around her office some.

"Right behind you," Kagome said with another giggle, pointing over Kouga's shoulder.

"Oh, hey. How have you been?" Kouga asked, jumping inside Kagome's office and off to the side, twisting to look at the changed features of the youkai lord. "You don't mind me kidnapping Kagome for lunch, do you?"

"Not at all. Why would I?" Sesshoumaru said. "I only came to tell Higurashi-san that I was leaving for lunch myself," he told them.

"Of course Desumasuku-san," Kagome said, standing up from behind her desk. "Will Hitori-san be joining you?" she asked, grabbing her jacket and purse.

"No. He said he would be working through lunch. Something about wanting to get ahead so he could take a day off, I believe," the stoic faced man replied.

"Well, enjoy yourself," Kagome said, ushering the two men out of her office and closing the door behind her. "So where are you taking me?" Kagome asked, turning her attention back to Kouga as the two of them walked to the elevators.

"Well, there's this lovely little cafe not too far from here that has excellent oden," Kouga told her as he pressed the elevator call button.

"Oh, I love oden. You aren't talking about Harold's, are you?" Kagome asked, recalling the exceptional oden the small cafe offered. And only four blocks from the office. When she didn't bring a lunch with her, which was often, that was one of her favorite places to go.

"Yeah. How did you know?" Kouga asked, staring at Kagome, confusion openly shown on his face.

"It's one of my favorite lunch spots," Kagome replied, stepping off the elevator into the lobby.

"Spoil sport," Kouga muttered, stuffing his hands in his pockets, a scowl set firmly in place. But his sour look didn't stay for long in Kagome's company. Soon he was smiling again and they chatted happily the entire way to the cafe.

Acting the gentleman he was, Kouga pulled the chair out for Kagome after they had chosen a table to sit at. Outside, under a small canopy, far enought away from everyone that they could have some privacy.

"So, what did you want to talk to me about, without Sesshoumaru around?" Kagome asked, taking a sip of the tea the waiter had brought for them. She looked over the menu, even though she already knew what she wanted.

"I wanted to talk to you about the girl I'm meeting at dinner tonight," he told her, looking at his own menu so he wouldn't have to watchher watch him with that calculating gaze she had. "More specifically, of who my mate was; of who this girl might be the reincarnation of," Kouga added.

"Why don't you want Sesshoumaru to know? He said it might be because you think he wouldn't approve of who you had chosen," Kagome told him, glancing over the top of her menu. "Is he right? Is that why?"

Kouga looked to the side nervously. "Actually, he'll probably be rather pissed off at me. But it's not that he won't approve of her. He won't approve of me," Kouga explained, glancing at Kagome from the corner of his eye.

"Wait. Does that mean what I think it means?" Kagome asked, eyes going wide in surprise.

"Yeah. It does." Kouga nodded grimly. "I want your help. You're the only person I know that can keep him calm," Kouga told her.

Kagome smiled sympathetically at Kouga. "I can try to keep him calm, but you'll probably have to go somewhere afterwards so you two can fight," she warned him.

"I wouldn't expect anything less from him," Kouga muttered as the waiter approached their table to take their orders.

After they gave their orders, Kouga looked Kagome in the eye. "There's something else and she already knows about it, but no one else knows," he told her, completely serious. "And she's just fine with it. In fact, it was her idea that we not tell anyone else." He motioned with his finger, leannig towards Kagome and whispered in her ear for a minute.

Kaogme pulled back in shock. "No way," she gasped out. "And she's fine with that?" she asked, mouth hanging slightly agape.

"Yeah. She understands. It wasn't me, and I've changed since then," Kouga explained.

Kagome shook her head in disbelief. "I knew she was special," she said with a smile. "But, let's keep that bit of information from Sesshoumaru for now. He'll be unhappy enough as it is."

"Won't he get upset with you for keeping something like that from him? That is something pretty important to keep from him," Kouga said nervously.

Kagome smiled reassuringly at the male sitting across from her. "Why don't you let me worry about Sesshoumaru and you focus on tonight," Kagome joked.

-----

Kagome was all smiles when she got back to the office after her lunch break. If nothing else, the double dinner date that night would be very interesting. Kouga had agreed to tell Sesshoumaru, even if Jade was not the reincarnation of his mate.

Kagome was about to reenter her office when her boss walked by and asked to speak to her in her office. Kagome nodded and followed after her boss and entered the larger corner office behind her boss.

"What did you need to speak to me about, Hogaraka-san?" Kagome asked, standing in front of the desk, facing her boss.

"I watch the news, Higurashi-san," the woman now sitting behind the desk stated. "I need to know if you plan on continuing your employment here after your marriage to Sumisu-sama?" the now identified Hogaraka asked.

Kagome ducked her head some, a light blush spreading across her cheeks. "Yes, I will be, but I was hoping to be able to start working from home afterwards," she told her.

"And why didn't you inform me of this before now?" Hogaraka asked, folding her hands and resting her chin on them.

"We thought it best to keep the fact that we had a relationship quiet until it was more established," Kagome explained, not offering more information than what answered the question.

"I see. When will you two be getting married?" she asked.

Kagome shook her head. "We haven't decided yet. He only asked me a short time ago. Before we went to visit my family," she explained.

"So, there will still be plenty of time before you will want to start working from home." Hogaraka said, certain she would still have her employee for a long time.

Kagome shook her head. "I'm not so sure about that. Neither of us want a large ceremony. Not as hard to plan," she told her. "We courted for a long time before he asked me to marry him," she added.

"I understand. So how long?" Hogaraka asked.

"One month. Maybe two," Kagome replied. "Maybe even less."

"It'll take at least two weeks to train your replacement. Just keep that in mind," Hogaraka told her.

Kagome smiled. "Then, Hogaraka-san, you'd better start looking for them," she told Hogaraka. "If that was all you needed, I should get back to work," she said, getting ready to leave the office.

"What if you got a promotion and a raise? Would you stay at the office then?" Hogaraka asked.

Kagome's smile saddened, but remained where it was nonetheless. "I'm sorry Hagarak-san, but I would not be able to. My husband-to-be and I have talked this over. He would honestly prefer it if I didn't work at all," Kagome told her higher up. "He doesn't think I should have to and doesn't really understand why I want to," she added. She just hopped Sesshoumaru wouldn't mind her saying that about him, though it really was kind of the truth. He didn't want her to work.

"I understand, Higurashi-san. Well, I wish you and your husband-to-be good fortune in your life together," Hogaraka told her. "And I'll start looking for your in office replacement."

"Thank you, Hogaraka-san," Kagome said, bowing to her boss before turning and exiting the office.

Kagome returned to her office and sat back down at her desk, feeling somewhat reenergized after her lunch with Kouga and her little talk with Hogaraka. Not wanting to put it off any longer, she started on the seemingly growling pile of paperwork that sat on her desk.

After she finished the first couple piles, she needed a break. _'One straight hour of nothing but paperwork can't possibly be healthy,'_ Kagome mused as she went to get a bottled water from the refridgerator. Feeling refreshed after a long drink, she returned to her office, ready to return to work. But she stopped when she looked up after closing her office door.

"Have fun during lunch?" Sesshoumaru asked from his seat in her desk chair.

"Yes. Kouga just wanted to ask me a few questions and to thank me for at least trying to help him find his mate's reincarnation. He also said to not worry about dinner tonight. He's going to pay for everything and has already made the reservations. He'll be sending a limo by at seven-thirty to pick the three of us up," Kagome told Sesshoumaru. She walked over to where Sesshoumaru was sitting and sat in his lap, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Now, I need you to get out of my chair so I can get back to work," she whispered in his ear.

"You're no fun," Sesshoumaru said, his bland expression and monotone voice totally ruining the normally pouty expression.

"I'm only fun before and after work," she told him, standing up but not releasing her hold on his neck.

Sesshoumaru relented and stood up. "I will just have to change that," he whispered in her ear before disengaging her arms from his neck and left her office.

The rest of the day passed quickly and before she knew it, Kagome was in her car, most of the way home. She smiled when she looked in her rearview mirror and saw Sesshoumaru's car directly behind hers. By the time they through the rest of the traffic, they wouldn't have much time to get ready for dinner. At least Kouga had told her it wouldn't be a formal dinner, so she wouldn't have to get dressed up for it.

Kagome pulled into the parking garage of her building, Sesshoumaru still right behind her. She waited for him to get his things from his car before heading towards the elevator.

"Jade came home early so she could get ready," Kagome said as they stood, waiting for the elevator to come. "She's really nervous about meeting Kouga tonight," she commented.

"It could be a sign that she truly is his mate reincarnated," Sesshoumaru commented.

Kagome snorted in a very unlady-like manner. "She hasn't even met him yet," she said.

"That does not matter. They have yet to meet in this lifetime. If she truly is his mate, her soul will remember him, regardless." He looked over at his own mate, his face softening for just a moment.

Kagome, sensing his eyes on her, turned to look at him, a smile blossoming on her face. "I love you," she whispered, leaning up on her toes to place a kiss on his lips. Just as she settled back down on her heels, the elevator 'ding'ed right before the doors opened to reveal Inuyasha and Shippo, with their human guises set firmly in place, waiting for the elevator.

Inuyasha inhaled through his nose, then snorted, shaking his head. "I can't believe Kouga has managed to make it this long without getting killed by someone. And I can't believe that you two can't keep your hands to yourselves for more than five minutes," he scoffed, stuffing his hands in his pockets, trying to decide which was worse; breathing through his nose and smelling the odors drifting from the confines of the elevator or breathing through his mouth and tasting them.

"Yes, Kouga is still alive," Sesshoumaru responded, ignoring the other part of Inuyasha's comment. "Where are you two off to?" he asked the pair.

"Dinner. The runt here," Inuyasha paused to thrust his thumb in the direction of the kitsune, "doesn't want to cook tonight," he explained.

"Hey! I just got a job working as a chef a couple days ago. I already cook all day at work. What makes you think I want to come home and cook for some ungrateful dog like you?" Shippo growled, turning to argue with Inuyasha.

"You little twerp. I should kick your ass for that," Inuyasha growled, grabbing Shippo by his collar and dragging him into the elevtor car.

Kagome slid out of the pairs way and stepped out of the car, followed shortly by Sesshoumaru and they watched as the doors closed, the elevators occupants still arguing. "Um, are they ..." she started to ask, trailing off, unable to finish the question.

Sesshoumaru sighed and steered his mate towards their apartment. "Sometimes," he answered.

"Oh." Kagome dug her keys out of her coat pocket and unlocked their door, her mind trying to grasp the idea as she entered the apartment. "What do you think of it?" she asked, looking behind her to Sesshoumaru as he hung up their coats.

"It's either that or them fighting. Although, sometimes, I can't tell the difference," he told her.

Kagome buried her face in her hands. "Bad mental image," she muttered, turning to go change before dinner. "Please tell me that's not why they live together," she said, pausing in the hallway to turn and look at her mate. At his nod, she groaned and continued down the short hall.

Kagome quickly changed and returned to the main room of the apartment to find Sesshoumaru sitting on the floor with his laptop out, working very intensely on something. She walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she looked over his shouder to find him working on something for one of his other companies.

"Why don't you finish that up tomorrow and go get changed while I go check on Jade?" Kagome suggested.

Sesshoumaru turned his head slightly to look at his mate. "It's an announcement of our marriage for the press," he told her, waiting for her reaction.

"Well, don't you think you should actually ask me first?" Kagome asked, a smile tugging the corners of her lips up.

"Alight." Sesshoumaru moved Kagome to sit on the couch and then kneeled on one knee, in typical American fashion, holding out a small velvet box to Kagome. "Will you marry me?" Sesshoumaru asked, opening the box to reveal a platinum engagement ring with a half carat diamond imbedded into the band.

Kagome looked from the ring to the expression on Sesshoumaru's face and smiled at him. "You planned that, didn't you?" she accused, sliding to the floor and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Of course I'll marry you," she answered.

Sesshoumaru removed her arms from his neck and pulled her left hand to him, placing the ring on her finger. "Go check on Jade and I'll get changed," he told her, moving to stand up.

Kagome nodded and began to stand up, squeeking when she was lifted up by Sesshoumaru. She giggled happily when he picked her up and kissed her before setting her back on her feet. Once she was steady on her feet, she stepped back and headed towards the door, a wide smile on her face. Going across the hall, Kagome knocked on the door to Jade and Kat's apartment.

The door jerked open and Kagome saw Jade's back going back towards the interior of the apartment. "Come in, Kagome-chan," Jade called over her shoulder as she darted into her room. "I just need to grab my jacket and purse and shoes," she said a minute later as she came back down the short hallway.

"Well, I must say you look quite nice, tonight," Kagome said as she watched Jade flutter about the apartment for a few minutes. "I'm sure Kouga-kun will like it."

That stopped Jade in her tracks. "You really think he'll like this outfit?" she asked. "I thought at first that it might be a bit revealing, but everything else just didn't feel right," she said as she grabbed her jacket and shoes from the hall closet and put them on. She grabbed her pursed and checked to make sure she had everything she would need and put in anything she would need to touch up her make-up during the night.

"So, where is Kat tonight?" Kagome asked, looking around the apartment some from where she stood.

"I told her I had a date, so she went out with her boyfriend again. She probably won't be home tonight," Jade said, checking to make sure she had everything one last time.

"Okay, I think I'm ready. What time are we suppose to meet Kouga?" she asked, grabbing her keys and heading towards the door.

Kagome checked her watch and saw that it was almost seven-thirty. "Actually, Kouga-kun is sending a limo in a little bit to pick us up," she said, stepping out into the hallway and watched Jade lock her door.

"A limo? He has a limo?" Jade asked, turning to gape at Kagome.

"I guess if he's sending one, he must have one. We didn't really talk about what he's doing now when we met to catch up a bit for lunch," Kagome answered, stepping across the hall and grabbing the handle to the door, only to have it opened before she could even turn the handle. She turned to smile at Sesshoumaru as he stood in the doorway, his youkai features covered by the features of Sumisu Jonason. "Ready to go?" she asked.

"Yes. The limo driver just buzzed up that he was here," he said as he pulled his coat on.

The trio went to the ground floor of the building and walked outside, greeted with the sight of a black stretch limo sitting there with the driver waiting to open the door for them. The door was pulled open and Kagome climbed into the limo, followed by Jade and Sesshoumaru. Once they were all in, the door was closed behind them and they settled into the comfy leather seats.

"Hello, Kouga-kun," Kagome said without looking towards the front of the limo.

"I was wondering which one of you would call me out first," Kouga said as he moved to sit next to Jade. "You must be Jade," he said, holding his hand out to her in greeting.

"Nice to meet you, Kouga-san," Jade said as she took his hand, a jolt going through her body when their flesh came into contact.

While still holding her hand, Kouga brought his free hand up and touched her cheek. He could feel the memories that had been stored in his soul for years being pulled from him and flow into this woman that so resembled his mate. He watched her eyes flutter for a second before she collapsed and he caught her, wrapping his arms around her, holding her to his chest.

Kouga looked up at the other passengers in the back of the limo, a grim expression on his normally happy face. "I think we should probably cancel the reservations," he said. "I can have my cook make something if you're hungry," he added.

Sesshoumaru nodded. "Understandable."

Kouga craddled the female body to his chest and moved to the front of the limo to speak with the driver. After a minute, he moved back by the others, adjusting Jade in his arms.

"We'll be going to my townhouse. It's closest," Kouga said, sitting back in his seat.

Kagome smiled. "I guess this means that she is the reincarnation of your mate," she said.

"Yes," he replied, his eyes drifting to her face.

They sat in silence for the rest of the ride to Kouga's townhouse. When they arrived, they got out of the limo and went inside, where Kouga put his mate on the couch. He snuck off into the kitchen for a minute to tell the cook to make something for his guests, and then went back into the living room where he saw her eyes fluttering open.

Kouga rushed over to her side and kneeled on the floor next to her head. "Hey," he said when her eyes focused on his face.

"Hi," she said, a smile pulling the corners of her lips up. She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck, burying her face in his neck. "I'm sorry I left you alone for so long, Kouga-kun," she said.

"It's alright, Rin-chan," Kouga replied, wrapping his arms around her waist. "You're here now, and I won't let you go ago."

"Rin-chan?" Sesshoumaru asked, his eyebrow raised.

Rin meekly peeked over Kouga's shoulder and spotted Sesshoumaru standing behind Kouga. "Hello, Sesshoumaru-sama."


	9. And All That Fun Junk, Too

A/N: Hey, my frustrated readers. Sorry it has taken me so long to get this chapter written, but life is a demanding bitch. The Job is finally finished though. This is the last chapter. Please ignore all the random little letters. They are remnants of html tags I was using for something else. All other mistakes are ffn's fault. :wanders off muttering about stupid edit programs on certain sitesthat don't know enough to leave puncuation where it's put in the first place:

I'd also like to dedicate this chapter to Riomi, who bugged the hell out of me to get this written. So go thank her for this chapter being here sometime this year.

Happy Reading all.

p b u **Chapter 10: And All That Fun Junk, Too** /b /u

p Sesshoumaru growled at the embracing couple. Before he could take a step towards them, Kagome was at his side with a hand on his arm.

p "Calm down" she said, looking him in the eyes when he looked at her. "Nothing you can do about it now."

p Rin looked up when she heard Kagome's voice. "Kagome-chan"

p Kagome moved from Sesshoumaru's side and sat next to the now sitting Rin. "Hey. It's been a while, huh" she asked, brushing a few stray hairs from the girl's face. "You're going to let this go back natural, right" she asked, holding a chunk of the red hair in front of Rin's eyes.

p Rin smiled and wrapped her arms around Kagome. "Of course, I'm going to let it go back natural, silly. I missed you" she said, tears welling up in her eyes.

p "Well, I'm glad we found you" Kagome said. "Although, it's more like you found us" she added.

p "Wait. You knew" Sesshoumaru growled out, stopping his pacing long enough to glare at the trio on the couch, his red tinged eyes focused on Kagome.

p Kagome sighed, let go of Rin, and walked back over to Sesshoumaru. "I only found out at lunch. But Kouga had wanted to tell you, so I stayed quiet about it" she told him, her right hand coming up to rest on his chest.

p Kouga stood up and took a few steps toward the inu youkai. "Don't be upset with her because of something I asked her to do, please" he asked, his chin to his chest, rolling his eyes up to look at Sesshoumaru.

p "And why didn't you ask for my permission like you should have" Sesshoumaru asked, glaring at the wolf youkai.

p "Sesshoumaru-sama" Rin spoke up, standing up from the couch. "You were still very upset about Kagome-chan's departure. I didn't want to bother you" she said, a sad look crossing her face.

p Sesshoumaru walked to Rin and wrapped his arms around her. "This is one thing I wish you would have spoken to me about" he told her.

p "Next time, I will, I promise" Rin said, pulling away to look him in the eyes.

p "Sesshoumaru-sama" Kouga said. "I would like to ask your permission to court your ward" he said, bowing low.

p "A little late for that request" Kagome said with a smile.

p "Better late than never. Permission granted" Sesshoumaru said.

p Kagome just looked between the two youkai, confused, then shrugged. "Rin-chan, since we didn't get to eat dinner, why don't we go find something to eat and leave the boys to play together" Kagome said, taking ahold of Rin's arm and guiding her out of the room.

p Sesshoumaru looked after the girls as they left the room, then back at Kouga. "I'll deal with you later" he said, then started after the girls.

p Kouga stared after them for a second, then shook his head. At least, he still had his head to shake. He jogged to catch up to the trio, then led them to the kitchen so they could all get something to eat.

p center /center

p Kagome smiled at Rin and Kouga as her and Sesshoumaru were getting ready to leave. "I'll tell Kat not to worry about you and that you hooked up with an old boyfriend or something, but don't forget to visit" she said, moving to hug Rin. "And don't forget about work" she added.

p "I'll see you in the morning, at work" Rin said with a smile.

p The women each stepped back to stand beside their youkai and slipped an arm around their waists.

p Kagome's gaze moved to Kouga. "And you better take care of her" she said, a slight growl coming out with her voice.

p Kouga swallowed and nodded nervously, glancing at Sesshoumaru. "You have nothing to worry about. I'll protect her, no matter what."

p "Good" Sesshoumaru said with a nod.

p They turned, leaving the newly reunited couple alone for the night. Sesshoumaru led Kagome to the limo that had just pulled up in front of Kouga's home. They climbed into the limo, Sesshoumaru nodding at Jaken as he passed the retainer, and settled into the leather seats for their ride home. Kagome snuggled up against Sesshoumaru's side, resting her head on his shoulder and drifted off to sleep.

p center /center

p Kagome awoke to curtain filtered sunlight trying to break through the barrier of her eyelids. She tossed a hand over her eyes and curled onto her side, away from the light. She felt an arm slid over her waist and she snuggled into the warm scent that was Sesshoumaru.

p "Morning" she mumbled into his chest.

p "Good morning" Sesshoumaru said, burying his face into her hair. "The alarm will go off in a few minutes. We might as well get up now" he whispered into her ear.

p Kagome nodded, but didn't move to get up.

p Sesshoumaru sat up in bed, and pulled the covers away from Kagome.

p Kagome sat up, glaring at Sesshoumaru. "That was almost as mean as throwing water on me" she accused.

p "I have never done such a thing" Sesshoumaru said.

p "You didn't, but Jaken did. When we were travelling together, looking for Naraku" Kagome explained.

p "Ah, yes. I remember that morning" Sesshoumaru said with a faint grin.

p "That was not a fun morning" Kagome growled, getting out of the bed and heading for the bathroom.

p Sesshoumaru smiled. At least he got her out of bed. A second later, the alarm went off. He reached over and turned off the alarm, then got out of bed himself.

p center /center

p The next couple of weeks went smoothly for everyone. Sesshoumaru put in his notice and soon no longer had to work for the company, effectively ending his 'Desumasuku' identity. Kagome effectively trained her in-office replacement, and got all the proper software so she could work from home. Kagome also gained quite impressive control over her youkai powers. Shippo got the job he had applied for with his 'Teiru Gishi' identity. Kouga and Rin got married, with Sesshoumaru's blessing, of course. Inuyasha started offically dating Muun, who is very happy to have an understanding boyfriend. And Kagome and Muun became great friends.

p Kat took well to living alone, glad that her withdrawn roommate had finally found someone to love. Although, she didn't end up living alone for long. She soon had a live-in boyfriend living with her, and she turned Jade's room into an office.

p center /center

p After finishing her work one day, Kagome was curled up on the leather couch in Sesshoumaru's den. The wedding planner was supposed to be coming by in an hour, and Sesshoumaru was supposed to be home from work in half an hour, which gave her enough time to take a shower. Deciding she needed to get moving if she was going to do anything, she got up and headed towards her room.

p center /center

p After her shower, Kagome dressed in jeans and T-shirt, pulling her hair back in a tight braid to keep it out of the way. She headed back downstairs, to her office, to get her planner binder that held all of the details for her and Sesshoumaru's wedding, then moved into the den once more, to start looking over some of the options the planner had left with her the last time. She moved into the hallway in time to meet Sesshoumaru as he came in from work. Kagome held up the book to show him what she was doing.

p "I'll be back down in a minute" Sesshoumaru said with a nod towards the stairs.

p "Okay. I'll be in the den" Kagome said.

p Kagome sat down on the floor, in front of the couch, and spread the contents of the binder out on the coffee table in front of her.

p Sesshoumaru came in with his 'Sumisu Jonason' facade on and sat on the couch behind Kagome and looked over her shoulder.

p Kagome leaned back against Sesshoumaru's legs. "Tell me why we can't elope, again" she asked, looking up at him.

p Sesshoumaru sighed. "Because I am a socialite and a large, flashy wedding is expected of me" he explained.

p Kagome pouted. "Why couldn't we just have a nice little ceremony at my family's shrine" she asked. "Jii-chan could do the ceremony for us. He'd probably be thrilled to do such a high profile wedding" she added.

p "As tempting as that seems" Sesshoumaru said, thinking over the idea.

p "It would cost way less, we could get married so much sooner, and to appease the other socialites, we could hold a huge reception later" Kagome jumped in before Sesshoumaru could think of a reason not to get married at her family's shrine.

p "How do I know you don't want to marry me just for my money" Sesshoumaru asked, jokingly, a smile softening his features.

p Kagome smiled up at him. "You'll just have to trust that I love you" she said.

p "I think I can believe that. Why don't you call your family before the planner gets here to see when they can do the ceremony" Sesshoumaru suggested, handing Kagome his cell phone.

p Kagome nodded and got up to go into her office to call her mother, leaving Sesshoumaru in the den. He took the afternoon's newspaper off the coffee table and glanced over the headlines before going to the financial section.

p Kagome returned to the den a few minutes later, a bright smile on her face. "Momma says they can do it the weekend after next" she told Sesshoumaru, sitting on the couch next to him.

p "So, two and a half weeks" he asked.

p "Yep. Then, we can take all the time we want to have a reception afterwards" Kagome said happily.

p "Good"

p The doorbell rang, and Jaken scurried to answer the door. A few moments later, he entered the den, human features well in place, and announced that Hitomi-san, the wedding planner, had arrived, before ushering the young woman into the room.

p Kagome explained to Hitomi, her younger brother's childhood girlfriend, the changes they wanted to make to their plans, and she happily agreed to make sure that whatever they wanted would work out for them. It was just a good thing the invitations weren't supposed to go out for a while.

p center /center

p Hitomi left a few hours later, with a new agenda. They only wanted a few very close friends and some select family members to be present for the wedding. Which was perfectly understandable, considering the large number of guests that would be at the reception.

p She had approximately two and a half weeks to plan the wedding, then she had another month or two to plan the reception. It would be a tough project, but she would become one of the top wedding planners in the country if she could pull off a high scale wedding like this one without a hitch.

p If she was going to get everything done that had to be done in time, she had better get to work.

p center /center

p The next few weeks flew by in a blur with work and wedding preparations. Before they knew it, Kagome and Sesshoumaru were at her families shrine, getting ready for their ceremony that was taking place the next day. Inuyasha, Shippo, and Sesshoumaru, at Jii-chan's insistance, were all staying in the spare bedroom. Kagome, Rin, and Muun were sleeping in Kagome's room, while Kouga was staying in Souta's room.

p The girls stayed up late into the night, talking and giggling.

p On the other hand, the guys stayed up arguing. Inuyasha and Sesshoumaru argued about the usual things. Kouga ended up going into their room to get them to shut up, but he ended up starting his own arguement with Inuyasha. Finally, Kagome, Rin, and Muun had to go into the room and tell them all to be quiet.

p center /center

p The next day went by in a flash for Kagome and Sesshoumaru. People showed up, Kagome and Sesshoumaru were dressed up like dolls, more people showed up, the ceremony was almost a nonexistent event in their memories, and then the couple was rushed off to a small dinner with family and friends that wouldn't be attending the reception.

p After a few hours, most of the family left, with the exception of a few that were staying the night, and the same friends that had stayed the previous night were staying again. But Kagome and Sesshoumaru got ushered off to a fancy hotel honeymoon suite for the night.

p Completely worn out from the long, eventful day, Kagome and Sesshoumaru crawled into bed and snuggled up under the covers.

p "Being youkai, shouldn't we have more energy left after today" Kagome asked, resting her head on Sesshoumaru's chest.

p "Not necessarily true" Sesshoumaru replied. "We've been under a lot of stress the last couple of weeks."

p Kagome nodded against his chest. "I just want to unwind tonight. I hardly remember much of anything that happened today. I hope someone got it on film so I can watch it later" she said.

p Sesshoumaru agreed. "Get some rest" he told her, turning out the bedside light.

p center /center

p After the reception and after all the reporters left them alone, Kagome and Sesshoumaru settled into a regular routine once more. Inuyasha and Muun, and Kouga and Rin would come over once a week for a family dinner, and afterwards, the guys would go to the dojo, where they could fight without worrying about breaking anything, while the girls could choose to either watch or chat in the den.

p The rest of the week, Kagome would work from home, or go out shopping with Rin, or Muun, or both, while Sesshoumaru was at work.

p center /center

p After a few years of wedded bliss, Kagome got pregnant and started planning for the baby. Which included many phone conversations with Rin, with much high-pitched, excited squealing.

p Both girls ended up pregnant, eagerly looking forward to getting to see their mates interact with their children.

p center /center

p Kagome was truly happy for the first time since she was pushed back to her own time.

p

p The End


End file.
